


Lock and Key

by SmoulderingOcean



Category: Switched at Birth (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Blended family, Car Accidents, Character Death, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drama, F/M, Family, Fix-It, Getting Back Together, Hurt/Comfort, Infant Death, Romance, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 03:39:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 46,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14228409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmoulderingOcean/pseuds/SmoulderingOcean
Summary: Returning from war as a changed man, all Ty wants is for everything to go back to the way it was before he left for the army- including rekindling his short-lived but passionate romance with Bay. However getting back to normal proves difficult for Ty. Will life and love endure all trials and tribulations or will Ty's world as he knows it crumble around him?





	1. Chapter 1- I'll Stay Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer- I do not own Switched at Birth or its characters. I am not making any money off of this, I am merely utilizing it to fix the many mistakes that were made.  
> I do however own several original characters of my own creation. If you would like to utilize them, please ask in a review.
> 
> Originally published on fanfiction.net under the username EyesOnFire1 on July 21st, 2013 and was completed on March 2nd, 2014.
> 
> Chapter Titled Inspired by: Enchanted- Taylor Swift
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Mild swearing and a non-graphic mention of suicide.

I slowly shuffled my way through the thick crowd, carefully eyeing all of the people milling about my favourite off-base hangout of Maui Kansas. It had been only about nine weeks since my return from Kabul and crowds still set me on edge, particularly the groups of carefree giggling girls who always seemed to frequent the park.

"Hey Ty!" A voice called out to me excitedly. Turning around, I saw that the voice belonged to none other than Mary Beth, the younger sister of Justin (who was one of my closest friends that I'd made while serving overseas). Mary Beth and I had met at the biweekly group therapy sessions that she'd started attending after Justin had killed himself a little more than three months ago. Because Justin was like a brother to me out there, taking care of his sister like she was my own was the least I could do in his memory. Smiling slightly, I sent her a weary wave.

"Hey MB," I greeted, stepping forward to squeeze her shoulders.

"How are things going?" she asked kindly as she slowly eyed me up and down, making me feel particularly exposed and vulnerable. My gaze flickered away from her soft eyes as I shrugged my shoulders and tried not to let any emotions show across my features.

"Ah, one of those kind of days then," she remarked sadly.

"It is what it is, " I replied somewhat bitterly, looking away from the nearest games booth that was filled clean stuffed animals. Sighing, I turned back to face Mary Beth, only to find her thoughtfully gazing at me yet again.

"What!?" I snapped angrily at her inquisitive expression.

Startled, she flinched violently at my tone and turned crimson. "Shit, sorry Mary Beth." I quickly replied in response to her reaction. I'm just... ya. Sorry." I finished lamely, rubbing the back of my neck. She casually waved off my apology, even though I could tell she was still upset.

"Are you... alright?" I quietly inquired.

Chin quivering, she tentatively nodded her head and ducked her eyes. "Are you sure?" I gently prodded, gripping her elbow in my hand.

"N... no." She admitted quietly. "It's just... It's just that I really miss Justin. We use to hang out here together on the first day of summer, playing games and just... talking. I- It's not that you're not nice company, but he was just him. Justin. The only person who understood me." As tears dripped down her face, I was slightly stunned, and unsure of what exactly to say or do that would help comfort her. Deciding that a hug was best, I opened my arms and she stepped into them, tucking her head on my shoulder.

"I miss him too," I whispered, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. She clutched me tighter for a moment before letting go, and then swiped at a few stray tears. "I'm sorry for getting like this," she said ashamedly, gesturing towards her damp face.

"Hey, hey, hey," I soothed gently. "It's fine. Holding all that in isn't healthy anyway," I replied, trying my best to smile. Mary Beth opened her mouth to respond to me, and I immediately knew what she was going to say before she even uttered a word.

"Ty-," she started.

"Want some pineapple whip?" I interrupted before she could get more than a word out.

Closing her mouth, she nodded, glaring at me slightly. I internally sighed in relief that she was letting the subject drop without a fight.

"My treat," I said, grinning at her as we comically linked arms and walked off.

* * *

 

I sat perched on a bench, side-by-side with Mary Beth while we both enjoyed our cups of pineapple whip as she chattered aimlessly about school and funny YouTube videos. Letting her words surround me like a warm blanket, I allowed myself to relax slightly, and comfortably rested my back against the bench.

Like usual, I allowed my gaze to flit over the guests, sweeping from one direction to the next. As I looked towards the tilt-a-whirl, a mass of long, dark curls startled me and caught my attention. Could Bay be here in Maui by some chance of fate?

My heart thumped erratically as the girl walked ever closer, her dark hair swaying hypnotically with every step. As she turned away from her friends and quickly glanced at me, I felt my body sag with disappointment. The girl had large blue eyes, heavy makeup, and tanned skin, all things that definitely did not define Bay Kennish in any manner whatsoever.

Mary Beth's hand gently patted my knee. 'Were you expecting someone Ty?" she asked, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose slightly.

"No... not exactly," I said slowly. I could feel Mary Beth looking at me curiously. "I was umm... hoping to run into someone more like it," I admitted shyly.

"Is it the girl who Justin said you talked about a lot?" She guessed. I nodded slightly at her.

"Well I'm sure you'll find her soon Mendosa," she quipped. "After all, how hard will it be to find the girl that lays claim to the only key to your heart?" I gaped at her. How had she already figured that out? Blushing furiously, I glanced down at my grease stained fingers.

Smiling softly, Mary Beth bumped her shoulder against mine. "Not that it's any of my business, but have you even told this girl that you're back now? I'm sure she'd love to see you." I silently shook my head. Not only was I not... well enough in the head to see her, but I wasn't sure if I could handle all those old emotions rushing to the surface, leaving me completely at the mercy of the beautiful Bay Kennish. Mary Beth quickly jumped up, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Well I'm on shift now Ty. Thanks for the pineapple whip, and good luck!" She chirped, her mood vastly improved from earlier in the day.

"See you on Wednesday, MB!" I called out to her as she walked away. Smiling, she waved and walked off towards whatever duty she had that day.

I checked my watch, and noticed that it was only just past noon and that I had a good nine hours of salute free time left. Heaving myself off the bench I decided to see if Mack had any odd jobs I could do today, ensuring that I stayed as busy as possible in order to avoid any of the dark thoughts that sometimes plagued me.

* * *

 

As I wander around the grounds, I curiously wonder if Bay would like it here. I can clearly picture her rolling her eyes at all the cheesy Hawaiian decor, with a very snarky comment thrown out every once in a while. The thought of Bay making a crack about the giant Tiki statue brings a smile to my lips. No matter how much she's moan and groan about it here, I have a feeling she'd love it just about as much as I do. If the switch hadn't happened, I'm still sure that she'd love it. Maui would've been  _our_ place; a place where we'd cherish memories from happier times. I can't even begin to recall all the countless good memories that Daphne and I have in this place, which was a rare place of happiness in my otherwise crappy childhood. From eating a pound of cotton candy, to going on the rollercoaster a dozen times in a row, to winning a stuffed animal that was bigger than my entire bed, the memories here were some of my fondest from before I'd met Bay.

As I reach the Shark Surf booth I find Mack splayed across the counter, unsuccessfully trying to convince the various passerby's to part with some of their cash.

"Mack," I greeted tersely. "Got any work for me today?"

"Well 'Sergeant McDosa', Loco Nuts requires a new air compression tank as the last one pretty much sank to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. One's scheduled to be delivered in about 5 minutes. Could you pick it up and surf it down to Mary Beth, whose obviously working in the Loco Nuts stand?" Mack stated, his voice and expression completely serious.

Suppressing a snort, I nod my head and begin to head towards the loading 'docks'. "Hey Mack," I called out, angling my head over my shoulder, and fixing him with a look that was as serious as the one he gave me just moments before. "You might want to sit up. People are probably getting the wrong idea about your enthusiasm." I hear a thump followed by a string of curses as I continue walking on, and I allow the barest hint of a smile to grace my lips.

As I exit the main entrance to the park, I slowly scan the area for the delivery truck. Before I can even inspect half a block north, I see a dark ponytail that belongs to none other than the one and only Bay Kennish.

My heart constricts painfully as I hide myself in the shadows of the Maui Kansas sign, making sure that Bay can't see me. I hold myself perfectly still as she dances around her smoking car, barking into her cell phone. I can't help but smile at her comments that her car knows her well enough that she needs a break, and asks AAA to take as long as they need to get here. I'm still lost in thought as I see her walk into the park, eyes alight with sparkling wonder. I shake myself from my reeve at the sound of a loud horn honking, and slip out from the shadows.

Hands shaking, I quickly sign off on the papers for the air compressor, and rapidly deliver it to Mary Beth before I quickly dash into the nearest washroom, praying that Bay still hasn't seen me.

* * *

 

I lean over the sink and splash cool water on my hot face. Glancing up at my reflection in the mirror, I internally debate if I should reveal myself to her or not. On one hand, seeing her could assist me in my journey to gain some form of normalcy. Plus I just want to see her, and I know that she'd be ecstatic to see me (even if I haven't contacted her in 11 weeks). On the other hand, I know Bay well enough that she'll try her best to help me, even if she gets hurt in the process. I'd almost rather die than cause her any unnecessary pain, particularly after I'd caused her a great deal of pain a couple of years ago.

Trembling, I decide to take a chance and reveal myself to her, assuming that she is still somewhere in Maui. Walking out of the washroom, I take a calming breath and head in the direction of the games closest to the entrance.

I immediately spot her at Mack's booth, handing him three tickets from her sheet. Her ticket sheet is still mostly full, and I hope that it means that she plans on staying here for a few hours. I slowly walk up behind her, appreciatively roaming my eyes up and down.

When Mack sees me approaching, he opens his mouth to say something, but I quickly shake my head, smile, and point at Bay. He rolls his eyes, and continues making snarky comments towards Bay about her shooting ability, which is frankly terrible. She completely misses the sharks, and is instead hitting the surfers, leaving her with a pitifully low score. Her poor shooting ability actually reminds me of my first few cracks at the target range, and I decide to coach her from behind before I reveal myself to her in order to win one of the big prizes. Crossing my fingers, I open my mouth and begin to speak.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves* So first off, thanks for reading, and if you review, thanks for that too!
> 
> This is Ty centric story. Bay will also play an extremely predominant role, and Ty/Bay will be featured quite heavily. Mary Beth, Regina, and Daphne will also play significant parts. Expect cameos for most other characters, including Justin.
> 
> I will try to stay canon compliant in general, with the exception of dialogue (quoting word-for-word isn't any fun). Later on you should expect several deviations in regards to the plot as those changes fit in better with the direction I want to take this (and frankly, the direction I wish the show was headed). Also, Ty is very corny and lovey-dovey for a particular reason. You'll find out why later on. Also, as a Canadian, I will be using Canadian spelling. If I put a Canadianism in here (i.e. saying Thanksgiving is in October), let me know and I'll fix the error


	2. Chapter 2- Fill an Empty Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: Moderate swearing, brief mention of sexual encounters in a sexiest manner, mild descriptions of death and abuse, and mild violence.
> 
> Chapter Titled Inspired by: Chances Are- Garrett Hedlund

"Up and to the left. Now,' I order. Bay shoots, and her shot is perfect."Down slightly. Now." Another perfect shot. "Quick, to the right. Now!" She hits the shark expertly. "Up and to the left. Shoot!" Yet again, another perfect shot. The alarm beeps, Bay tosses the rifle down and turns around to look at me.

"Hey," I say simply, trying to gage her reaction.

She immediately launches herself into my arms, and tightly hugs me. "Oh my God you're back!" She exclaims breathlessly in my ear. I nod into her shoulder before I untangle myself from her embrace, stuffing my hands in my pants pockets.

"Wha- What are you doing here?" She asks with a wide smile.

"Well," I begin, licking my lips, "my tour is up. I'm just finishing my enlistment out on base here." Bay's eyes sparkle at the news that I'm no longer under threat from bullets and bombs.

After several moments of looking at each other, her smile falters. "Daphne didn't say anything though," she stated, her eyes filled with hurt.

"Daphne doesn't know I'm back. I didn't exactly tell many people that I'm home." Bay's posture relaxes, and her smile returns wider than before.

"Well you're here! We're here! We're together. And," she points over her shoulder, "we got a realllly high score!" She turns to face Mack, which allows me to take a tentative step forward, putting me close enough to Bay that I can smell her fruity shampoo.

"Sooo, what did we win?" She sing-songs at Mack, making my face split into a wide grin.

"Well you sure racked up a lot of megalodon carcases," he starts, sending me a sharp glare. "Any prize in the booth is yours!" He steps back and opens his arms in grand gesture. Laughing, Bay turns away from Mack and faces me.

"Well then Ty, what do we want?" She asks mockingly, her eyebrow comically raised. Rubbing my chin in fake concentration, I allow my gaze to quickly search for the largest, most amusing prize possible. My eyes settled on a monkey hugging a giant banana.

"Hmm. I think my room sure could use a giant pink monkey hugging a banana," I state seriously.

"One giant pink monkey hugging a banana please!" She chirped at Mack, glancing back at me.

"One giant monkey it is!" Mack replies, reaching up and pulling one down. Before I can even prepare myself, he tosses the monkey to Bay, making me flinch violently and take a step back.

Laughing lightly, Bay turns and presses the toy into my hands. I take a deep breath, attempting to calm my nerves. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?" I ask, feverishly hoping that the answer is a definite no.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," she immediately responds, reaching out to clutch my hand.

"Awesome. Well then, how are you at skee-ball?"

"Extremely terrible," she says with a laugh. "Let's go."

* * *

 

Bay wasn't kidding when she said she was extremely terrible at skee-ball. She's missed the target all but twice, and she's already rolled nineteen times. Before she can pick up the last ball, I snatch it up and expertly roll it, scoring 50 points. "Someone certainly knows what he's doing," she remarked, her voice tinged with the barest hints of mocking.

"Very funny," I reply, rolling my eyes.

After an unsuccessful attempt at one of the water cannon games, I turn to Bay, pulling out her ticket sheet.

"So...where to next?" I ask, quickly surveying the area.

"Darts?" She suggests, pointing a booth that's about 60 feet away.

I nod distractedly. "Shall we grab lunch after that then? They make a mean pineapple slushy," I reply, motioning towards the giant inflatable pineapple in the distance.

Smiling, Bay nods and tugs me toward the nearby darts booth. I internally wince as I think about Bay's dart skills. If they're anything like her shooting skills, the poor guy working there might lose an eye.

"Are you sure about darts?' I ask. "The ring toss might be more of your thing. At least you won't take out someone's eye."

"Ha ha, very funny." She retorted sarcastically. "Watch and learn Ty, watch and learn. I happen to be an excellent darts player. A very excellent one, I might add."

Raising my hands up in defence, I step back and smirk. "Prove it then," I challenged, handing her three tickets.

I watch in amazement as Bay strikes the centre target five times, resulting in a high score that wins her a large pink octopus. Bouncing up to me, Bay smiles triumphantly and waves her large prize in my face. "Ha! Proved ya wrong didn't I?"

"You sure did," I murmured, swallowing back a wave of unexplainable irritation. "Ready for that pineapple slushy?" I ask quietly. Nodding, Bay clutches her prize tightly, and I lead her towards the giant pineapple.

* * *

 

Bay gripes the novelty pineapple cup in her hands as she quickly chugs back her pineapple slushy. "You weren't kidding when you said these things were good," she exclaimed, wiping her mouth on the edge of her jacket.

We silently sit together for several minutes- me searching the park like always, and Bay studying me. Flickering my eyes over her face, I raise my eyebrow, silently asking her why she's staring at me. "How long have you been back?" She asks after taking a deep breath.

"Couple of months," I grunt, avoiding her eyes. I can feel the hurt radiating off her in waves without even looking at her.

"Why... why didn't you tell me?" She whispers, her voice cracking slightly. Running my hand through my short hair, I ponder what answer would be the best one. I can't tell her that my head's fucked up- she'd be crazy to not run for the hills. I also can't tell her that I didn't want anyone to know I was back until my entire enlistment ended in September of 2014 just in case I got sent somewhere else. Chewing on my lower lip, I decide on a sort of half-truth.

"I didn't know how to tell you," I admitted slowly. "It isn't exactly an easy situation to deal with." Her eyes immediately soften.

Bay stands up and pulls out her ticket sheet. "Where to next? Haunted House? Rollercoaster? The Zipper? Ferris wheel?"

"How many tickets do you have left?" I ask.

Bay quickly counts out her tickets, and comes up with 24.

"The Ferris wheel and the rollercoaster then?" I suggest. Both require riders to present 6 tickets each, which would finish up her entire sheet. Not to mention that both rides are in open cars, have expansive views of the park, and long lines that will let Bay and I spend as much time together as possible.

Nodding in agreement, Bay picks up her stuffed animal and pineapple cup, and we quickly head towards the rollercoaster.

* * *

 

Bay huffed impatiently as she checked her watch yet again. "Ugh," she groaned. "We've been waiting for 35 minutes already. When are we going to get on this stupid thing?" I chuckled lightly, simply enjoying being near Bay again. "Shouldn't be much longer. The Ferris wheel is the most popular ride here after all."

"Why are you dressed like that?" I ask, taking note of her high heels, blazer, and pantyhose. "I never thought I'd live to see the day when you willingly put on pantyhose." She laughs at me, her nose crinkling adorably.

"My dad 'insisted' that I work as one of his summer interns at the senate office alongside Daphne." She starts, her tone bitter. "Now I spend eight hours a day listening to rich people complain about having taxes that are too high and picking up twenty different coffee orders five times a day."

I wince sympathetically.

Finally it is our turn to board the Ferris Wheel. We quickly place our large prizes in first, before I sit down and casually stretch my arm over the back of the bench, revelling in the heat that is radiating off of Bay's side.

The ride starts, and luckily we stop at the top, our car swaying slightly in the breeze. "So," Bay starts, taping the safety bar rhythmically, "what exactly do you do when you're not here?"

"Eat, sleep, shower. Repeat." I state seriously. Bay snorts.

"And aside from that?"

"Auto detail. I fix Humvee's mostly," I say shrugging.

"What about when you're here? You can't always be mastering the games, right?" I laugh easily.

After several minutes of silence, I finally answer her question. "Actually, I hang out here because I like being anywhere that I don't have to salute, and I have a lot of fond memories here with Daphne, Regina, and my Great Aunt. And I have a friend that works here."

"Daphne's been here?" She asks, her mood suddenly deflated. I nod slowly.

"It might surprise you to know that Regina's actually a champion skee-ball player," I inform her, hoping to cheer her up.

Her eyes widen in surprise. "Really?" She asks, her voice filled with awe.

I nod. "Yup. She's the one who taught me everything I know." Her eyes sparkle with happiness, and I immediately promise myself to tell her more about Regina.

"How is Regina by the way?" I ask as I help her step off the ride, and then collect our things. Bay simply shrugs, not verbalizing anything. "Bay? Is everything alright with Regina?"

Bay plopped down on a nearby bench and sighed raggedly. "I- She. She... Regina started drinking again," Bay admits quietly. "She had to go to rehab, so Angelo helped her out and paid for her fees. She just got back."

I sit there in shock. What could have driven Regina to break her 12 years of sobriety? "She's better now though, right?" I voice.

"I think so, ya." She replies, looking off distantly.

Before either of us can say anything, Bay's phone rings. "It's probably AAA," she mutters unhappily, fishing her phone out of her pocket. "I guess it's time to return to the place where Kim-Jung Daphne rules, terrorizing all who are beneath her."

I blink, trying to process what she has just said. Had things with Daphne gone that sour? Last I had heard, things between them were civil- in fact Bay had mentioned in her last email to me that she now thought of Daphne as a sister, rather than just a friend.

Bay flicked off her phone, chewing on her lower lip. I opened and closed my mouth several times, but I wasn't sure how to mention the ideas about Daphne that were running around in my head.

"So," I begin. "Was that AAA?" I ask, desperately hoping that it wasn't.

Much to my dismay, she nods. "They need to tow The Thing. They can't exactly tell me what's wrong with it other than the engine is screwy."

I scratch the back of my neck awkwardly, secretly happy that Bay's stuck out here for a while. "So about earlier- the stuff you said about Daphne. What exactly is going on?"

Bay sighs raggedly. "It's a long story," she admits. "I... I'd just rather not get into it right now."

I nod slightly, wondering what exactly had happened between them to make things that difficult.

"Umm, if things with Daphne are that bad, you could work here. I know the manager. I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to get you a job," I tell her, selfishly hoping that she'll work here often enough that I'll be able to see her frequently.

"That's the manager over there," I say, pointing towards Mack.

"That guy is the manager?" She asks, shock clearly evident her voice. I shake my head affirmatively.

"Huh. That's a bit..."

"Weird," I say finishing for her. "Believe me, I just about fell over in shock when I found that out myself."

"Come on," I say, standing up and angling my head toward Mack's booth. "Let's get you a job."

I can feel Bay trembling beside me as we wait for the people playing Shark surf to finish up so that she can convince Mack to give her a job. I hesitantly stretch my hand out, wanting to comfort her with a simple touch. Before I even move my arm more than 3 inches, Bay has stepped closer to Mack and is rapidly speaking with him.

After a few short minutes of conversation followed by a vigorous handshake that almost sends Bay tumbling to the ground, she turns to me with a smile so bright that it lights up her entire face.

"I got a job!" She proudly announces. "I start tomorrow on games. No more Daphne, no more politics. Just me and a giant pineapple and weird people who wear sandals with socks."

"That's great," I say, quickly giving her a small smile.

* * *

 

After wandering around for a couple of hours, I drive Bay back to Mission Hills in my beat up truck, stopping a block early to ensure that we are out of site from her home. I'd rather not run into her dad at the moment, mindful of our last encounter.

Bay plops her octopus on the hood of my truck and pulls me into a hug. After several short moments, I wish Bay goodnight and hop into my truck, driving back to Maui.

As I cross the green bridge that connects Maui to the parking lot, I immediately spot Tex and Lou, two guys that I served overseas with. I also see Mary Beth in the distance, walking towards us on the bridge.

I nod my head in greeting as Tex and Lou ramble on about something that I don't care to understand.

"MB," I say, smiling at her as she stops on the bridge. "How was your day?"

"Ty," she chirped happily. "My day was good. I see you look happy. Did you run into that girl?" She asked, her eyes glinting with gentle amusement.

I angle my body away from Tex and Lou, and nod slightly.

"What's this about a girl!?" Tex interrupts, a leering grin on his face. "Nothing," I mutter, annoyed with the looks on Tex and Lou's faces.

"Ehh Mendosa's just embarrassed that the girl he fucked behind the tiki hut was a 3. That's all," Lou interjects, high-fiving Tex. I hear Mary Beth clear her throat uncomfortably and walk off. I feel waves of anger rush through me at how they're talking about women and what they're implying about Bay, all in front of Mary Beth.

Glaring at the guys, I toss my jacket on the railing and hurry to catch up to the fast walking Mary Beth.

I silently escort her to her car and wave her off as she drives away from the setting sun. I take a couple of minutes to compose myself before heading back to where Tex and Lou stand, each drinking a beer.

As I get closer to them, they wordlessly hand me a beer and begin to snicker. Not saying anything, I set the beer on the railing and shrug on my jacket. They snicker again, this time loudly. Sighing, I ignore them and gaze off into the distance.

After close to an hour where the conversation is dominated by crude talk about how many girls they'd bedded in the last month, Tex and Lou finally direct their conversation to sports.

We're in the middle of discussing the epic meltdown by the Padres from a few years previous when a voice softly calls out "hey."

I turn and see that it is Bay, now changed out of her office attire. I look at her in shock. "Wha- what are you doing here?" I ask quietly, stepping toward her.

I expect to see a smile, but instead Bay frowns deeply, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "What do mean? You asked me to come here. I... I got your text an hour ago," she says, pulling out her phone.

"Huh? I didn't send any texts," I say, equally as confused. Before I can ask Bay anything else, I hear Tex and Lou burst into laughter behind me.

Turning slightly, I see them doubled over, slapping their thighs. Tex stops laughing and takes a deep breath, "I need to see you! Come meet me at Maui!" He parrots, his voice deeper than normal.

"Ohh Ty, I've missed you so much," Lou moans, his voice mockingly high. He then turns around, and imitates a make out, running his hands over his hair and moaning.

I allow my gaze to return to Bay, and I see that her face is flush with humiliation and her eyes are glassy with tears. "So it was a prank," she whispers, her voice hitching slightly.

"You took my phone?" I ask, my voice shaking with rage.

I hear Bay whimper beside me, making my heart clench.

Suddenly flashes of various women from Afghanistan fill my mind- an older woman being openly mocked in the street; a young girl being shoved away from her school; a woman perched on the roof of a car as lumber filled the seats inside; the body of a woman, abandoned after she was stoned; a little girl being violently dragged off of a dusty soccer pitch only to never be seen again.

I feel rage fill me rapidly, consuming me to the point that I can no longer think clearly. I move slowly, deliberately placing myself in front of Bay. I glare powerfully at Tex and Lou, "you dare treat a girl like that? You disrespect her?" I seethe, thinking again about the pain and suffering that they too had witnessed.

"You dare to humiliate her? To hurt her? Apologise. Now." I step closer to Lou, my glare intensifying.

"Come on man! It was just a prank." He pauses, leaning closer to me. "She's totally into you bro. Just go for it." I involuntarily look back at Bay, but all I can see on her face is pain. I feel a tidal wave of fury wash over me, and I immediately slam Lou into the banister, toppling over my abandoned beer. "Don't you ever fucking treat a girl like that. Don't you even fucking think about it." I grip the straps of his shirt tightly in my hands, yanking him up slightly and glowering menacingly.

I feel Tex tugging me away from Lou, and I hear Bay shrieking unintelligibly in my ear. Finally I relax my body, and allow myself to be pulled several feet back. I take several deep breaths, trying to slow my heart down.

Lou's eyes are wild as he quickly apologises to Bay and then scampers off towards the parking lot, Tex close behind him.

I allow myself one last look at Bay, and all I can see on her face is terror. My heart drums uncomfortably against my ribs as I propel myself into the dark park and away from the shame I now feel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that I've portrayed Ty's PTSD well. I rewrote the fight about 5 times until I was happy with it.
> 
> Bonus points if someone can catch the reference I made to one of my all-time favourite movies.


	3. Chapter 3- A Thousand Whispers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything in italics signifies a dream. 
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Mild descriptions of death and violence. I think there's a little bit of swearing in here too.
> 
> Chapter Title Inspired by: Start Again- Gabrielle Aplin
> 
> The movie reference in the last chapter from Forrest Gump- Forrest had a fellow soldier named Tex.

_The night sky is moonless, resulting in a cloaking darkness that both comforts and agitates me as I do my nightly patrol alongside Justin._

_Justin and I loosely hold our weapons, slowly scooping out the surrounding territory. While we cannot see or hear anything or anyone, I can't help but feel the creeping anxiety that plagues all of my waking hours._

_As we finish a lap around the perimeter fence that we are patrolling, Justin lets out a chuckle._

_"What?" I hiss at him, irritated at his lack of seriousness._

_"Just thinkin' about a video my sister sent me the other day," he murmured, his voice clearly full of pride._

_"What was it about?" I ask as we take a quick break at the water pump, standing behind Tex, Riggs, and Lou._

_"Just some ridiculous Ellen video. Man she cracks me up," he replied, his eyes shining with amusement._

_"I bet she and Bay would get along great then. Bay loves Ellen a ton," I reply, grinning slightly at him._

_Justin smirks and bumps his shoulder against mine. "You get any more emails from her, lover boy?"_

_Ignoring what Justin is implying, I nod quietly at him._

_"Oooooh! Someone must be pleased," he crooned._

_I avoid looking at him, my checks heating up slightly. I had been overjoyed that Emmett wasn't an insurmountable barrier that had cut off all communications between Bay and I._

_"She sent me another photo of her art," I said proudly. "Her stuff gets more and more amazing with each piece that she shares with me. Her latest work just really speaks to me. It was sort of based off of Frida Kahlo's 'What the Water Gave Me', and Bay's just so... talented," I finish, draining the last of the water from my canteen._

_"When'd you get all arty?" Justin teases, his eyes brightly amused._

_"Since the first time I met her. She was going on and on about being an eggplant in a pipe world, and comparing that to this super cool painting done by an even cooler artist," I reply, fondly recalling the warm July evening where we'd first met._

_Justin looks at me strangely, and then his normally goofy expression turns serious and intense as he studies me. "You really got it bad for Bay, don't you?" He asks, taking a swig of water._

_I bite the inside of my cheek, stopping the rush of words that threaten to deny everything. There isn't any room for lies and deceit in a warzone, and Justin knows this even better than I do._

_Sighing slightly, I nod at him._

_He clasps my shoulder firmly. "Everything will work out in the end. I'll be going home to my mom and Mary Beth, and you'll be going home to your Bay."_

_I choose not to voice my doubts as I silently fill up my canteen, waiting for Justin to do the same. Once his canteen is filled, we return back to foot patrol, letting Peanut and Jennings take a break._

_After several minutes, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I glance at Justin, and even he seems at unease. The stars have completely disappeared, making our world entirely black._

_Some distance to the right of us, a bright light flashes, quickly followed by a loud bang. Immediately on alert, we grip our guns tightly and slowly head in that direction. Someone shouts, and our pace increases._

_Suddenly a rapid line of gunshots comes from behind us. I immediately toss myself on the ground and quickly crawl between two boulders. Before I can check on Justin, I hear a dull thud followed by a scream- a scream that I immediately recognize as Justin's._

_I quickly glance out from behind the boulder, and I swallow back against a wave of nausea. Justin lies prone on his back, his eyes wide and unmoving as blood slowly soaks the earth around him._

_I feel a wave of rage rush over me, and I fire rapidly at the faintly moving person in dark clothing who is only fifty feet from my hiding spot. The person falls to the ground in a heap, not making a sound. I sit perfectly still for a few minutes before I go and check on the man who I shot._

_Something doesn't feel right. The person is no longer a bulky man in dark clothing, but a woman in a white dress. As I get closer to the woman, my heart rapidly speeds up in terror. The person I killed wasn't an enemy. The person I killed was the one person in my life that kept me sane- Bay Kennish._

* * *

 

My eyes fly open and I immediately throw my sweat soaked sheets off my sticky body and quickly down the glass of water that was on my nightstand.

'It was just a dream. It was just a dream. It was just a just a dream.' I rapidly repeat in my head, trying to slow down my pounding heart.

I slowly try to analyze my dream- the conversation with Justin was unchanged. We'd discussed Mary Beth and Bay the night that we'd seen a flash of light on the horizon. What had changed was obvious- Justin had never been harmed physically in Afghanistan, and Bay had obviously never been to a warzone.

Leaning back against the frame of my bed, I clutch my head in my hands. While I'd been having bad nightmares for many months now, Bay had never been in them. Rather she'd always been at the forefront of my pleasant dreams; dreams ranging from painting the town together to us going to Disneyland, and everything in between.

It takes several minutes, but I finally calm down enough that my body has stopped shaking. Sparing a glance at my clock, I am startled that it reads 4:56am. My shift at the motor pool doesn't start until 7am, and group therapy doesn't start until noon. Stripping the sheets off my bed, I decide to shower and do a small load of laundry before the base starts to really get busy.

Turning the water on as hot as it will go, I step into the spray, wincing as the water rushes over the small gash on the back of my neck that I'd gotten when the hood of a particularly finicky Humvee had collapsed on me as I was working tirelessly on the back part of the engine.

The heat of the water eases out the kinks in my muscles, but before I can truly enjoy my shower, the water shuts off. Sighing, I towel off and rapidly dress, before gathering my laundry and heading to the small laundry room.

As my things wash, I pull a book off the shelf of random novels, and sit down across from my washer, letting the soft noise lull me into a state of semi-consciousness as I leaf through the book.

"Hey man," Aida calls out, startling me as she dumps her laundry into the only other washing machine.

I nod in greeting, shifting to the left so that she has enough room to sit next to me. Before I can even react, she plops down and yanks the book I was reading out of my hands.

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?" She asks, her nose wrinkled in disgust. I simply shrug my shoulders in response.

"Your taste in books is as almost as weird as your taste in music," she teases.

I grunt at her and snatch my book back, not bother to making eye contact.

"Everything alright?" She asked, her hands clasped under her knees.

I lick my lips and debate whether I should tell her about Bay or not.

"It's Bay," I simply state, standing up to toss my laundry in the dryer.

"Bay?" She questions, her brow furrowed. "Thee Bay Kennish, extraordinarily talented artist and heart breaker?"

"How many people named Bay do you think I know?" I snapped.

Aida holds her hands up in defence. "Alright, alright. No need to get your undies in a twist. Now...What's going on with you and Bay?"

I ponder on exactly what and how to tell her.

"Any day now," Aida chimes, perching herself on the dryer. I grimace in annoyance.

"I... Bay... Umm we..." I start awkwardly.

"Well this is painful," Aida mutters. "I'm going to grab some coffee and a donut. Want anything?" She asks, shifting her clothes into a dryer.

"Tea and an apple please," I reply monotonously, wistfully thinking of my favourite breakfast from before I enlisted; eggs with ketchup, maple glazed bacon, and Belgian waffles with peanut butter and raspberry jam.

Nodding, Aida quickly vacates the room. Less than ten minutes later she returns, tossing the apple haphazardly in my direction, making me flinch. I gingerly sip my tea, still unsure of how to talk about my reunion with Bay and my overreaction that followed.

Before I know it, the dryer stops and I pull out my sheets and clothes. Jerking my head in farewell, I leave Aida in the laundry room without answering her question.

* * *

 

I've been in motor pool for close to four hours, focusing on nothing but the steady rhythm of my work. Yank, twist, pull, push, pour, press, bang, tap- repeat; over and over and over until my hands and shoulders ache in protest. I've barely completed my half day of work when my Sergeant dismisses me for group therapy.

Wiping my grease stained hands on a rag, I head to the dingy cafeteria and down my lunch of mac and cheese, nearly gagging as I force myself to finish. I look at my watch, throwing back my orange juice when I realize that I only have twenty minutes to get to the administrative building where the group meetings are held.

* * *

 

The rush of cool air conditioned air makes me shiver as I enter the small room. I quickly scribble my signature on the clipboard before sliding into the only left-handed desk available. After a couple of minutes I'm joined by Mary Beth and her mother, followed by Aida who snags the last seat in the room which is directly to my right.

The psychologist who leads the discussions, Dr. Cory Hudson, hands out pads of paper and pens and then clears his throat, immediately quieting the room.

I nearly roll my eyes. While Dr. Hudson is a nice man, I can't help but resent that I am required to be here because of the incident that had occurred a few days after I had returned home. Most of the people here, including Aida and Mary Beth, are here by choice; an unpleasant choice, but a choice nonetheless.

I mostly tune out what the good doctor has to say until he begins talking about recovering relationships after a soldier returns home- something that finally captures my attention in group after 15 painful meetings. I begin taking messy notes, ignoring the inquisitive looks that I am getting from Mary Beth and Aida.

At last my least favourite part of the session arrives: sharing time. I've never volunteered to say anything in any of the groups sessions that I've attended so far, but for the first time, I deeply consider it.

I argue back and forth with myself as James Wilkson, a medic who served alongside Aida, shares about his difficulties in regards to regaining a relationship with his young daughter.

I can feel Dr. Hudson's eyes resting on me, and I hesitantly raise my hand, stunning the whole room into complete silence.

"Ye- yes, Tyler? You have something to share?" Dr. Hudson asked kindly, his eyes glowing with warmth.

I am beginning to regret raising my hand, and opening myself up to the judging ears of my colleagues and their families. I look over at Mary Beth, and she smiles encouragingly at me.

Taking a deep breath, I glance away from everyone and focus my gaze out the window. "I ran into an old... friend of mine a few days ago," I start, rapidly jostling my knee up and down. "And at first, things went well. But...then I screwed up."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Dr. Hudson asked, stepping into my field of vision.

"I think I made her afraid of me," I murmured, ashamed of my actions from the other day.

"Why do you believe that Tyler? What would prompt her to suddenly fear your presence," he asked, forcing me to make eye contact with him.

I swallow audibly. "Like I said, the other night, I ran into that old... friend of mine. We hung out for the whole day, and then... she basically got pranked by these guys. I was so angry that they'd hurt her, so I, uh, attacked one of them. Once it was all over, all I could see on her face was fear. I just sort of ran after that." I admit, ducking my head.

Dr. Hudson paused, briefly glancing about the room. "How many of you can say that you've had a similar experience as Tyler here? That is to say, how many of you have lashed out at others because you were angry or stressed or scared?"

Half a dozen or so hands went into the air, including Aida's. "Good, good," Dr. Hudson murmured. "Now, would anyone care to share their experience, and offer Tyler some advice on how to repair his relationship with the lovely young woman that he mentioned?"

After a brief hesitation, a bulky blond guy named Henry who works with me in auto detail raises his hand.

"Ahh, good. Henry is willing to share with you Tyler," Dr. Hudson said, walking toward Henry and his older sister.

Henry cleared his throat, and then glanced at me. "While the person I frightened wasn't a girl, they meant a lot to me in the same way that your girl means to you. I'm pretty sure I know who you're talking about Ty," he started, shifting in his seat. "The girl you're talking about now is the one that you always bragged about while we were overseas. The talented artist with a knack for sarcasm," he voiced, his eyes bright.

"For me... I'd been back about a month. I hadn't told anyone, not even my sister Callie here, that I'd finished my tour. After that month where I was finally feeling acclimated, I called up my boy Andy, and made plans to see a movie together. Of course I didn't want to tell him that violent movies weren't my scene anymore. Of course this was my undoing, as Andy ending up getting us tickets to see Django Unchained."

I wince at that. While I hadn't seen the movie, I did know that there was lots of gun violence in it- something that a lot of us couldn't deal with after getting back to the 'real' world.

Henry nods at me and then continues, "so I went to see the movie and I lasted for about an hour before I couldn't stand it anymore and I left the theatre in a rush. Like the good friend that he is, Andy ran after me, demanding to know what was wrong."

I can't help but think of Bay and her compassion when he says that.

"Instead of taking his concern with appreciation, I essentially freaked out on him, and within seconds I already knew that I'd overreacted. I simply fled and ignored the look of hurt I could see," Henry paused thoughtfully, and took a calming breath.

"After that, I'd thought that I'd ruined everything. I hid away for a few days before I realized that hiding was what was making things worse, not my yelling. So I went to visit Andy, and I apologized and calmly explained to him that there is some stuff that I can't handle at the moment; that I am jumpier and moodier and... simply different from the guy who had enlisted two years prior. After we had that conversation, things were easier. It still took me a while to open up to him about certain things that happened, but things were better. A lot better. In the end telling the truth and leaning on him is what helped me out," Henry finishes sharing his experience, and smiles kindly at me as everyone in the room applauds politely.

"Excellent. Thank you for sharing that with us Henry," Dr. Hudson starts, walking over to squeeze Henry's shoulder. "Now Henry got the point across eloquently- sharing our struggles and limitations, which may seem difficult, allows for an easier experience with one's nearest and dearest. Trust is everything in a relationship."

He sends me a serious look, stepping close to my seat. "So Tyler, what do you prose you do to amend the current predicament that you are in?"

I hesitate briefly and then clear my throat. "Apologize obviously... explain what set me off, and tell her how things are different for me now, and hope for the best."

Dr. Hudson smiles slightly and nods, and then dismisses us from group, reminding everyone that the next meeting is on Sunday.

* * *

 

I see Mary Beth and her mother heading towards the gate, and I sprint to catch up to them, tapping MB on the shoulder. "Can we talk?" I ask, already tugging her a few feet away from the inquisitive ears of her mother.

She nods, and we go a little further back. "Can you make it quick Ty? I'm training the new girl on games today," she said, glancing back over at her mother.

"Are you training someone named Bay?" I ask, hoping that, that was the case.

"I think that was her name. Not too sure though," she answered, fingering Justin's tags.

I sigh, and swipe my hand through my hair. "Can I hitch a ride to Maui? I have a few hours of leave for today, and I need to get my truck anyway. I left it there on Sunday."

Mary Beth smiled, and gave me a knowing glance. "Sure thing," she replied, quickly shuffling to the gate.

* * *

 

I sit in my truck after having changed into a fresh shirt and pair of jeans, debating if I should go and see Bay or not. I know that Mary Beth is giving her the last of her mandatory training at each of the booths, before leaving her at the simplest booth to man: Shark Surf. I curiously wonder how that is going. Most of the job involves a lot of chatter- something that Bay excels at.

Taking a deep breath, I decide to do what is right and apologize for my overreaction a few nights previous. I open the truck door and slam it shut, rehearsing my apology in my head as I walk into Maui, my heart racing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The character of Dr. Cory Hudson was included to honour Cory Monteith who had recently passed away when this chapter was originally published.
> 
> Can anyone catch the two Wilke references that I made? (Hint: One of them is a deliberate misspelling of a name.)


	4. Chapter 4- Trying to Do It Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything in bold signifies a text message.
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Mild swearing, and mild descriptions of violence and abuse.
> 
> Chapter Titled Inspired by: Ho Hey- The Lumineers

Maui is as busy as ever; single parents dragging screaming toddlers away from the cotton candy booths; happy families that sit at the picnic tables with large lunches; groups of teenagers who eye up anyone they deem attractive with lustful gazes. As I slip between a grandparent comforting a crying child and a blonde girl who chews obnoxiously on her gum, I spot Bay at Shark Surf where she appears to be just finishing up with Mack.

The apology that I'd been running through my mind suddenly vanishes in a virtual cloud of dust. I stand there stunned before I turn on my heel and rush towards a bench that is out of sight from the populace that fills the park.

Clutching my phone in my sweaty hands, I try to think back to the group therapy session that I'd finished just a few hours prior. My mind comes up blank, and I really begin to panic. I can't lose Bay to something as stupid as prank, even if I am still unsure of where we stand. I tug on my hair, willing my body to get up and move towards Bay.

After several painful minutes, I am finally able to stand up and slowly make my way to Shark Surf where Bay is leaning over the counter and calling out to anyone passing by the booth.

"Come on everyone! It's my first day! Step up and shoot some sharks. Please! Anyone?" Bay says into the microphone, her voice frantic.

Before I can even think about it, I step into her line of vision and her eyes widen slightly in shock. "How about showing some actual enthusiasm?" I tell her as I fish out some old crumpled tickets from my pocket and wave them at her.

She shakes her head and smiles faintly. "No, no. It's fine. My shift is almost up anyway," she states simply, avoiding my gaze.

I take a deep breath, and step closer to her. "I... I want to apologize about the other night. I kind of overreacted, and I'm sorry about that," I finish, awkwardly scratching the back of my neck. I look up at Bay and I see that she is studying me curiously.

She waves her hand casually. "It's fine. Really, it is."

I shake my head. "No. No it isn't," I say, sending her a deep look. We stand there in silence for a few moments, neither of us knowing what to say.

"Hey Ty," Mary Beth interrupted as she pushed a large helium tank towards us.

I almost sigh in relief from the break in tension. "Hey MB. Bay, this is Mary Beth. Mary Beth, this is Bay," I say, gesturing respectively to both of them.

Bay nodded and smiled at Mary Beth. "Mary Beth here was just showing me the ropes earlier. Y'know how to operate the booths, organise the prizes, woman the 'talking stick'." I snort slightly. Mack and his ridiculous mannerisms are one of the few amusing things that never seem to get old.

I glance at my watch and then look thoughtfully at Bay. "Umm...so do you want to hang out after your shift ends?"

"Sure! What do you have in mind?" She replied cheerfully. The swing in her mood stuns me slightly and I almost lose my train of thought again.

I shake my head slightly before replying. "Wanna grab some tacos, ogle the poor people of East Riverside and then catch a movie?" I say seriously, my eyebrow cocked slightly.

"You are never going to let me forget that are you?" She remarked, laughing heartily. I shake my head and grin at her.

"Tacos and a movie sound great. I finish at 5," she responded with a bright smile.

"Until then," I say, stepping towards Mary Beth and gently pulling the helium tank out her hands. "This going to the recycling room?" I ask. She nods gratefully at me and then steps closer to Bay. I wave at the two of them before slowly meandering my way through the park with the empty tank, my spirits lighter than they have been for months.

* * *

 

Before I know it, it is already 5 o'clock and Bay's shift has ended. I stand on the green bridge, my heart thumping nervously as I wait.

Bay walks up to bridge with Mary Beth, chattering aimlessly in her ear. I'm ecstatic that they seem to get along so well and are forming a solid friendship, something that Mary Beth has missed out on since Justin committed suicide and something Bay says that she's never really had with a girl.

"Hey you two," I say, pulling my car keys out of my pocket. Mary Beth smiles slightly before waving in farewell, quietly mentioning something about paying Justin a visit tonight. I look at Bay as her smile falters just slightly. 'It's ok," I mouth at her. She nods hesitantly at me before heading towards the parking lot.

I fall into step beside her and we walk silently to my truck. I politely open the door for Bay and then shut it after she pulls on her seatbelt, which earns me a wide smile.

During our short drive to East Riverside, Bay tells me about the senate election and how John only won because the opposition had suddenly dropped out of the race. "Would you have voted for him?" I ask, glancing at her while we're stopped at a red light.

She paused briefly, tugging on a strand of her hair. "Well... he's my dad for one, and while I don't exactly agree with his worldview, I do know that he's an honest man who keeps his promises. So ya, I probably would have voted for him if I could have."

This surprises me a fair bit. Bay mentioned to me in her emails about all the things that she and John have clashed over- from teaching evolution in schools to public healthcare to street art; they never really agreed on anything. "What about you?" She asked, her voice slightly teasing.

"Umm... well," I start awkwardly, avoiding her eyes. Before I can finish, she laughs. "I was pretty sure what your answer would be. I just wanted to see how uncomfortable you'd get."

I roll my eyes as I park the truck and open Bay's door. "When you asked me out for tacos, I thought we'd go to..." She trailed off, pulling out her wallet.

I study the messily scrawled menu that's on the side of the food truck. I nearly scream when I see what today's features are- tacos with 'tons' of cheese. The mere thought of it makes my stomach turn slightly.

"Two spicy tacos, extra tomato and a coke please," Bay called out beside me, handing the cashier a crinkled bill. I still have no idea on what to order, so I simply ask for the same. I tell Bay to get us a table while I wait for our orders.

"So... got any movies in mind?" I ask, passing her a coke. "Well," Bay starts as she scrolls though her phone. "We can see a RomCom that will make us hate ourselves, a gory and misogynistic horror film, or a comedy so brain dead that we might have trouble breathing."

I ponder our options briefly. The horror film is immediately off-limits and I know that Bay absolutely loathes RomComs. "I think that... the brain dead comedy is our best bet," I reply, bending my head slightly to take a bite out of my taco. I am met with an overwhelming mouthful of cheese, and I groan in discomfort.

"Been a while?" Bay asks, laughing lightly.

I shake my head. "Nah, I've just had way too much mac-and-cheese lately."

Bay looks at me curiously. "What's it like?" I raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Living on base I mean? I just picture it as summer camp but everyone's mean and yelling all the time," she said, taking a bite of her taco.

I smile slightly. "No it's not that bad," I start, recalling distant and unpleasant memories of the few summer camps that I'd attended as a kid. "It's more... strange than anything." This time Bay is the one that raises an eyebrow in confusion. "It's the whole 'my workplace is my home' thing that's strange. Just imagine you living at Maui day-in and day-out with your coworkers," I answer, taking a swig of my coke.

"Huh... So that'd be like me living in the giant Tiki hut with Mary Beth and Mack," she said, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

I laugh and accidently hit my face with a taco, covering my chin in salsa . I just knew that Bay was going to make a crack about the Tiki hut. "So what was-" Bay starts, fixing me with a serious look.

"I'm going to grab some napkins. You should probably order the tickets ok?" I interrupt her questioning, not wanting to discuss anything about Afghanistan at all. She nods at me, her body language giving off the barest hints of hurt.

I sigh, and swipe at my chin with the napkin, tossing the whole mess of my dinner in the trash. "Ready to go see that movie?" I ask tonelessly.

* * *

 

We're already over an hour into the movie, and I have no idea as to what's been happening on screen. Within five minutes I had found myself losing interest in what was playing and I'd started studying the handful of patrons in the theatre. There were a couple of slack jawed stoners sitting near the middle, a few groups of elderly people sprinkled throughout the room, and a couple that was making out heavily on the far end of the theatre from us. Once I've exhausted all of my observational subjects, I turn my head slightly and look at Bay.

I have this deep desire to memorize her features and her mannerisms as I'm not entirely sure when I'll ever get another opportunity to do so. I notice that she purses her lips just slightly when she isn't pleased with what's occurring; that she pauses just slightly before laughing; her checks twitch when she is amused; the corners of her eyes crinkle when she is confused. Her entire being radiates beauty and I can't quite get myself to stop looking at her.

She turns to look at me and laughs, her hand clasping mine. I join in her laughter weakly, unsure of what was so funny.

I only manage to keep myself amused for another ten minutes before I drift off, not quite asleep but not quite awake either. At some point, a dog barks on screen. My mind is suddenly thrown to the first time that I'd seen the decaying corpse of a dog on the side of the road, and I shudder slightly.

Before I know it, the movie is over and Bay is standing up and brushing popcorn off her lap. I quickly stand, and we slowly make our way to the parking lot. The street lamp that the truck is sitting under isn't working, making the area too dark for comfort. Or at least my comfort. Bay is chattering away happily while I'm on edge, scoping out the area for anything suspicious.

I immediately open Bay's door and shut it as soon as she gets inside, and then quickly slide into my seat, locking the door tightly.

"So where am I taking you? Maui to get your car?"

She shook her head. "Sadly The Thing is still out of commission. So you can, uh, drop me right off at home. I'm... I'm actually staying with Regina at Angelo's condo that's in River Market."

I sigh slightly. River Market is in the opposite direction from base. "River Market it is," I say as upbeat as I can manage at the moment.

As I drive, I can't help but think about Justin. Even though I hadn't paid attention to the movie, I know that he would have enjoyed it. Slapstick comedy was his favourite type of movie. Yet again my thoughts drift to his suicide. Why had he done it? Why did he have to leave his mom and Mary Beth behind? Why did he leave me behind?

Beside me I can hear Bay mention something about brains and condoms, but my mind it too tired and too busy to try to process what she is saying. We hit a stop sign, and I stare at the bright red colour of it. Red like the shirt Justin was wearing the last time I saw him alive.

"Ty," I hear Bay calling out to me. She places her hand on my forearm and shifts her body to face me. "Stop sign isn't going to turn green," she paused slightly and I could feel her eyes roaming over my face. "You ok?"

I avoid her eyes. "Can we... I'm just not up for talking right now, ok?"

"Sure," she said kindly. A violent shiver shook her body.

"You're cold. Here, take my jacket," I tell her, shrugging my coat off.

Bay's eyes widen, and for a moment I'm confused as to what she's looking at.

"What's this?" She asked, gently sliding up the sleeve of my shirt and fingering my tattoo.

"It's not what it looks like," I say panicking.

"Well... it kind of looks like my poster," she said, the edge of her voice unusually stiff.

I gulped and chewed on my lip as I tried to come up with a proper explanation for the tattoo. Just as I had opened my mouth to talk, a horn honks behind us, making me jump.

"Alright, we're going," I muttered, waving my arm out the window.

The rest of the ride is silent and Bay refuses to look at me, instead staring out the window.

When we reach Angelo's condo, Bay quickly slips out of the truck and whispers me a quiet goodbye. I sit there for several minutes after she disappeared inside, cursing myself for fucking things up just as everything had slowly started to mend.

* * *

 

I find myself slaving away on one of the more particularly damaged Humvee's when a familiar voice calls out my name.

"Regina!" I reply, stepping down from the stool that I'd been standing on for several hours.

"So this is where you've been hiding away eh? Not even telling little old me that you've returned." She stepped forward and enveloped me in a tight, comforting hug that I easily return.

She handed me the canvas bag that had been swinging on her shoulder and I immediately peer in and find a myriad of protein and chocolate bars, packs of gum, the latest Adam Lambert CD, and a Harry Potter book. "Thank you," I tell her, propping the bag against the Humvee.

She smiled warmly at me. "I looked up online about what you soldiers miss the most when you're away. Plus I know how much you like this junk," she said, gesturing to the Twix bar that was in my hand. I snort loudly.

"So what have they got ya doing that's been keep you so busy?" She asked as I took a big bite out of my chocolate.

"Auto detail mostly. If you even have a Humvee that needs fixin', then I'm your guy," I respond, finishing off the last of my snack.

Regina stepped forward, but instead of giving me another hug, she slides up the sleeve of my shirt to revel the Axe Girl tattoo. "Huh. So that's still there then," she said calmly.

"Bay mentioned that to you then?" I question, thankful that it is Regina that Bay told, and not John or Kathryn.

Regina nodded. "Wanna tell me what that's all about?"

I quickly shake my head. Aida is the only other person alive that knows the reasoning behind my selection of Axe Girl for the tattoo.

Regina sighed quietly and sent me a knowing glance. "Don't shut everyone out Ty. You might think you can handle it on your own, but if you try, your whole world could very well crash and burn around you. And I certainly know that better than almost anyone." She paused briefly and took a deep breath. "Bay told you that I had to go rehab because I started drinking again, right?"

"Ya... she mentioned it once," I answer, recalling the confusion that I'd felt when Bay had told me about it.

"Well I needed to go to rehab because my problems became bigger than what I could handle on my own. The harder I tried to fix things by myself, the more difficult and complicated those problems became," she admitted, not a trace of embarrassment or regret visible on her face.

I scrunch my nose in irritation. I don't like what she's implying about me. "Not all of us comeback broken or damaged," I spit out.

She quickly shook her head. "No you don't. But I sure bet you all come back changed," she replied, ignoring my sour tone. "You've got a couple of pretty concerned Vasquez women in your life, and I'm pretty damn sure that we can handle whatever changes have happened. Don't push us away," she told me, looking sincerely into my eyes. I avoid her gaze.

"Even I needed to open up to others Ty, and I'm certainly a lot tougher than you," she tells me, gently swatting my right arm.

I firmly bite my tongue. Is Regina right? Would telling Bay about some of my experiences make things easier?

The still air between me and Regina is quickly growing stiff and awkward. "Want the grand tour?" I ask lamely, pointing over my shoulder.

She smiles at me softly. "Lead the way kiddo," she said, grabbing my bag and linking her arm with mine.

* * *

 

I sit on the edge of my bed, phone in hand. Bay's message page is open, but I've yet to start typing anything. My thumbs hover over the keys as I struggle to think of what to say.

 **Hey... Can we meet soon? Need 2 talk 2 u.** Before I can delete anything, I send the message to Bay.

After a few minutes, my phone beeps.

**Sure. I get off work at 9. That ok?**

**Sounds gr8. Meet at green bridge k.**

I then quickly turn off my phone, and lay back on my bed. What do I tell her? Ever harder, how do I tell her about all of this stuff without over-burdening her?

I roll out of my bed and jog to the motor pool. While I'd long since finished my day's work, I could start on tomorrow's order. I took a deep breath and inhaled the comforting scents of oil, dust, and gasoline.

I snatch up a helmet that has a headlamp attached to it and quickly prop open the hood of a Humvee.

"Mendosa!" I heard a deep voice call out. Startled, I drop my wrench and stumble off the stool, landing flat on my back. The sound of laughter greets my ears, and I quickly feel waves of irritation roll off me.

Peering around the tank that was behind me, I see Aida lolling on the ground, clutching her sides as she laughs manically.

"Hey!" I seethe at her, roughly kicking the sole of her boot. She continues to laugh at me, her voice catching slightly. "Fucking stop laughing already," I grumble, my stance softening at the sight of Aida covered in dirt with tears dripping down her face.

"Ah man, I need that. Thanks for startling like a little girl on Halloween," she said, grinning widely at me. An image of a hysterically screaming 8 year old Daphne dressed up as Minnie Mouse drifts through my mind.

I glare again at Aida, my good mood gone as suddenly as it had arrived. "Why are you here?" I ask, turning back to my Humvee.

"Just walking. Better question is, what are you doing here Mendy? You finished up your assigned tasks hours ago," she questioned, leaning up against the Humvee.

I don't bother to say anything, instead I flick on the headlamp and continue working.

"Ty," Aida starts, firmly gripping my wrist. "What's on your mind?"

I bite my lip. "I... I need to tell Bay about some stuff," I admit slowly.

Aida let's go of my wrist. "Oh," she murmured, glancing away from me. "Well if she's as tough and passionate as you claim, then I'm sure it'll all work out. It worked with me and..." she trailed off slowly. I nod and wipe the grease off of my hands.

"Right, well I'd better motor," I say seriously. Aida rolls her eyes at my pun.

"You're just like... never mind. Good luck Ty," she said, waving me off.

* * *

 

I wait at the end of the bridge, clenching and unclenching my hands.

After a few long minutes, I see Bay bounce down the steps, her long dark hair fanning out behind her.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hi," I whisper, peering into the paper bag that she is holding.

"Want a glazed almond?" She offers, holding the bag close to me. I immediately shake my head. "No I'm fi..." Bay's face falls, and Regina's voice from earlier in the day echoes in my ears. "Umm sure. Thanks," I say grabbing an almond.

I crunch on the almond as Bay apprehensively watches my every move.

"You don't have to look at me like that," I state firmly.

"Like what?" She replied, her tone defensive.

"Like... like I'm going to go off or something," I answer.

"Well you have been kind of... unpredictable lately," she said slowly.

I close my eyes briefly and then take a calming breath. "I know. I'm working on it," I admit. "You don't have worry about me going off again."

Bay smiles weakly at me. "I... I'll stop asking you questions too. I can tell it bugs you to have me ask."

"You can ask me stuff. I might not always have an answer for you, but you can still ask," I tell her sincerely, trying my best to smile.

She nods and takes a deep breath. "Why... why did Justin kill himself? Like he made it back alright and then... what happened?" She asked quietly, her eyes shining.

"I don't know," I tell her sadly, wishing that I did. "When you're over there, you see a lot of bad stuff. And that stuff sticks with you. I guess he just wasn't able to, uh, deal with it" I close my eyes. "It's just the random stuff that sticks. A dead dog lying in the street. A tattered teddy bear in the remains of a bombed home. Sandals lying abandoned in the dirt..." I trail off, looking down at my feet.

"Do you... have you ever felt the same way?" Bay questions softly, stepping closer to me.

"No. No I haven't," I tell her simply, taking another almond.

Her shoulders sag in relief. "So what's the story behind the tattoo?" She asks curiously.

I chew on my lip. "A while after I, umm, called you, I was placed on rations duty."

"What's that?" She asked, her eyebrows knit together in confusion.

I grin slightly. "It's the best job you can get when serving over there. You basically hand out stuff to people. We always had little kids come up to us, and we'd give 'em small stuff. Packs of gum, bubbles, crayons. That sort of stuff."

My heart thumps uncomfortably as I think of the little girl with the purple and gold headscarf. I take a deep breath and fix a serious look at Bay. "One time I had a soccer ball, and I was looking for a kid to give it to. All the boys kept shouting 'pick me, pick me, pick me!'. But there was this girl, and she wasn't saying anything. She wasn't even looking at the ball. She was looking at your poster on the tank." The smile on Bay's face is the only thing that keeps me talking. "She did the pose, y'know the whole holding the axe and fierce look."

"A true axe girl," Bay replied smiling widely.

"She was. I ended up giving her the soccer ball because of that," I recall fondly, shuddering at the thought of what happened after that.

Bay is looking at me thoughtfully. "Something bad happened though didn't it?" She asked sadly.

I nod. "After I gave her the ball, she came back the next day to play on the dusty field that was across from where we parked. The boys didn't want her to play with them. Eventually we managed to convince them to let her join in, and... she's spectacular. Here's this tiny girl in her purple headscarf outplaying all the boys who are bigger than her." My throat swells and I swallow painfully.

"Ty," Bay whispered. "Is... is she ok?"

"N..no," I reply looking off in the distance. "About an hour after she started playing, this man walked up and started screaming at her, screaming at us, and screaming at the kids. He then dragged her off the field and threw her in the back of a car."

"And that's ok? He can do that? Yell and drag her away like that?" Bay questioned, her eyes wide.

"The interpreter told us that he was her older brother. There wasn't anything we could do," I answer, fiddling with an almond.

"Did you ever see her again?" Bay murmured.

I shake my head. "A few days after... after that happened, I started asking around the community about her. No one was saying anything until one of her neighbours told me that I didn't want to know what happened."

Bay pales slightly. "Is... did they? That means that?" She stuttered, pulling her jacket tightly around her.

I immediately know what she is trying to ask me. "I... I think so. Girls aren't... treated very well over there," I tell her, swiping my hand through my hair. "So I got the tattoo to... keep her spirit alive, and sort of represent how strong girls and women are in places like that."

I suddenly have a mane of curly hair in my face as Bay throws herself into my arms and clutches me tightly. "Oh Ty," she whispered. "I am so sorry for freaking out like that."

I return her hug. "S'okay," I sigh, holding her tighter, concentrating on nothing other than the feeling of her in my arms and the peace that comes with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a tiny deviance from the show by calling Ty's tattoo Axe Girl, not Hammer Girl; I consider Ty's tattoo to be 'Axe Girl', because Bay says in 1x05 that "it's time for Axe Girl to go global."
> 
> This chapter was originally published after 2x20 aired and as a result, most of my information on Justin will now be considered AU.


	5. Chapter 5- Had I Known

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a quote that I used that belongs to Queen Elizabeth II that I used in the group therapy session. All credit goes to Her Royal Highness. 
> 
> Chapter warnings: Mild swearing, and non-graphic mention of suicide.
> 
> Chapter Title Inspired by: How To Save A Life- The Fray
> 
> Emily Rose, Mary Beth's mother, may come across as uncaring, but please remember that she's a grieving woman and grief does not present itself in rational ways. 
> 
> Bold indicates text messages. Italics signify ASL.

I tiredly rub my eyes after yet another sleepless night filled with nightmares about Bay- Bay dying at my hands; Bay being treated like the little axe girl while I watch helplessly; Bay ending up like Justin, and dying from having her heart shattered by terrible things that she witnessed. I miss the pleasant dreams that I use to have about her after my typical nightmare of death and destruction. Now all of my nights are filled with nightmares about Bay, and only Bay.

I quickly make my bed with practiced ease, and readjust my giant monkey that sits perched across from my bed. I then pick up my well-worn copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire off of my nightstand and slide to the floor, opening the book to page 317.

After a comfortable hour of reading, I glance at the red glowing numbers of my alarm clock and decide to skip my shower this morning and head immediately to the cafeteria for breakfast.

As I walk through the halls filled with swearing men wandering around in towels, I remember that I have yet another group therapy meeting this evening. Sighing as I enter the dingy room, I grab a tray and slap down a bowl of oatmeal, a handful of strawberries, a cup of tea, and a banana. I immediately spot Aida sitting near one of the windows and I quickly head towards her, my tea sloshing slightly.

"Morning," I grumble, slicing the banana and strawberries into my oatmeal.

"Morning to you too, beautiful," she replied sarcastically as she sipped on her coffee.

After several minutes filled with the distant sound of chatter and spoons scraping bowls clean, Aida clears her throat slightly. "I never got around to asking you, but how did your evening with art girl go?"

"Good," I murmur, licking my lips. "Told her about some... stuff," I answer vaguely.

Aida smirks slightly. "Told you she could handle it."

Rolling my eyes, I return to my food.

After I finish my meal, I glance up to look at Aida and I see that she is staring off in the distance at nothing. "Aida?" I question, my voice low.

"Hmm," she replied tiredly. "What was that you were saying Mendy?"

I chew on my lower lip until I taste copper. "How's... Umm... How's, uh, she doing?" I whisper, chewing on my lip again.

Aida sighs and looks down at her hands. "Not so good," she murmured.

"Does... does she ever ask about me?" I hesitantly ask. Aida mutely shakes her head, and my heart falls slightly.

"How much longer do they say she'll live?" I question, my voice trembling.

"A few weeks at most," Aida replied sadly.

"Will... you visit her? And... and can I visit her?" I murmur.

Aida looks away from me and takes a long drink of coffee.

"Oh," I sigh.

Shoving my tray back, I stand up and rapidly exit the caf without a backward glance. I head for motor pool, relaxing when I am welcomed by nothing but the soothing sound of wrenches turning and the utter predictability of engine work.

* * *

 

I silently work side-by-side with Squid, one of the newer recruits on base. Squid, also known as Private Michael Granger, is probably my 'best friend' on base ever since I returned from Afghanistan a couple of months ago. His funny and compassionate personality, bright smile and twinkling eyes easily remind me of Justin, even if his dark physical features starkly contrast Justin's sandy hair, blue eyes, and easily sunburnt skin.

We quickly make work of our Humvees, simultaneously slamming the hoods shut after spending a little over three hours working on them. Wordlessly passing him a bottle of water, we rest our backs against the low wall that divides the Humvees from the tanks.

"How's your little brother?" I ask after several moments of comfortable silence between us.

Squid smiles slightly. "He's doing pretty good. Docs say that his cast will be off in another two weeks or so."

I grin at him. "Little boys eh? Still can't believe that he broke his leg trying to launch the swing over the top bar."

"That's why when I have kids, I want daughters," Squid replied, laughing lightly.

An image of a heavily pregnant Bay clutching my hand while we watch a dark haired girl playing on a rug flashes through my mind, making my heart twist painfully. I firmly pinch the back of my hand because I simply can't afford to think like that right now; not with the chance of being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan again.

"Me too," I murmur, looking off in the distance.

Standing up, I brush off dirt from the back of my pants and return to working on my last Humvee order of the day.

After I am dismissed from the motor pool, I wave goodbye to Squid and head towards my barracks, intent on taking a shower and having a late lunch before the group therapy meeting that starts in two hours.

* * *

 

After relaxing for a couple of hours, I head to group with my hair still dripping from my quick shower.

As I sign the clipboard, I spot Mary Beth and her mother sitting on either side of my desk, both of them looking unhappy. Slightly puzzled, I quietly slip into my seat and rest my head on my arms.

"Hello, hello, hello!" The jubilant voice of Dr. Hudson called out as he passed around a box full of pens and notebooks.

Sighing slightly, I flip open the notebook and scribble the date in the top right-hand corner.

"Now, today we'll be covering the topic of grief and how to properly grieve," Dr. Hudson started, casually walking around the room.

I bit my lip, wincing slightly at the tenderness of it. I most certainly do not want to talk about my grief; about my mother and my great-aunt and Justin and several other soldiers.

I look at Mary Beth out of the corner of my eye, and I see that she has paled considerably. Frowning slightly, I gently squeeze her shoulder eliciting a slight smile from her.

Leaning back in my seat slightly, I jot down a couple of points that I find interesting but I otherwise find myself nodding off slightly. "... remember, grief is the price we pay for love." I hear Dr. Hudson say as my eyes droop shut.

"Ty," I hear Mary Beth murmur. "Ty, the session is over."

I blink slowly, my eyes foggy. "Did I fall asleep?" I ask, yawning widely.

Mary Beth nods. "He didn't notice though. But Ty... please take these sessions seriously," she pleaded, her eyes shining.

"Ok," I reply simply, stretching out the kinks in my back.

I silently slip out of the room followed by Mary Beth and her mother, Emily Rose Tucker. I silently escort them to the gates but before I can head back to motor pool I feel a strong grip on my wrist.

"Tyler, may I speak with you?" Ms. Tucker asked. Glancing at Mary Beth, I see a look of horror on her face. What could her mother have to say that would cause such a reaction?

"Alright," I mumble, stepping several feet away from the gate.

"Mary Beth and I are planning on cleaning out Justin's room tomorrow, and we would like to have some assistance from you as neither of us can really lift heavy boxes or disassemble any of his furniture. Are you able to come over around 2pm?" She asked me straightforwardly, her expression unreadable.

"I- what?" I answer, slightly confused.

Ms. Tucker grimaced slightly. "We're clearing out Justin's room tomorrow. Are you able to come over at 2pm to help us?"

Slightly gobsmacked, I nod mutely.

"Thank you. We shall see you tomorrow then," Ms. Tucker replied, walking out of the gate with Mary Beth trailing slowly behind her.

Sighing raggedly, I run my hand through my hair and make my way to my room to grab my work gloves.

Just as I was leaving my room, my phone buzzed on my nightstand. I open flick my phone on and see that the message is from Bay.

**Hey Ty. Whats up?**

I smile slightly at the message.  **Nothing much. U?**

Bay's reply is almost instant.  **Got a gig 4 Toby at Maui 2night. Want 2 come?**

I glance at the calendar on my desk, and count up the hours of leave that I've taken in the past week, adding on an additional three hours for cleaning Justin's room tomorrow. I frown deeply. There aren't enough hours for me to go and see Bay tonight. Sighing, my thumbs hover over the keys as I ponder how to tell her without hurting her.  **I cant. No leave left over 4 this week. Srry.** I quickly press the send button before I can erase the message.

A couple of minutes later, she replies.  **Oh. Ok. C u l8er then.**

Tossing my phone onto the bed, I snatch up my gloves and jog to the mostly empty motor pool.

* * *

 

The sun shines brightly, contrasting my dark mood. I don't really want to be here, touching Justin's things and removing them, but I do know that Mary Beth will need me to be here for her. Taking a deep breath, I step forward and ring the door bell.

Mary Beth quickly opens the door. "Hi Ty," she greets, her expression miserable.

"Hey," I murmur, squeezing her shoulders gently. "You ready to get started?"

"N-no," she croaks. "But I don't have much of a choice either."

I sigh, and we walk up the stairs and step into Justin's room where Ms. Tucker is emptying all the clothes out of his dressers, folding his the usable items, and placing them into cardboard boxes.

"Ah, Tyler you're here, she greeted.

I smile slightly in acknowledgment. "So...have you got anything for me to help out with?"

She pointed at a stack of two boxes and a small tv. "Could you take these downstairs and place them in my truck please?" She asked, tossing me her car keys.

Nodding slightly, I exit the room with Mary Beth trailing behind me.

Snatching the keys from my hand, she opens the door of the truck and I neatly place the boxes and tv on the back seat.

"I wish she wasn't doing this," Mary Beth muttered unhappily. "Not like it's going to make anything better."

I gently clasp her shoulder, and head back up to the room where I see that Ms. Tucker is quickly grabbing cds from Justin's vast collection and placing them in a box. "You two can work on the books," she told us distractedly. "Put 'em all in the box over there."

Justin's bookshelf is packed with an array of fantasy novels ranging from Harry Potter to The Hunger Games, and everything in between. Sighing, I quickly begin placing books into the box at my feet.

After we finish packing up his books, Mary Beth and I begin cleaning out Justin's closet, folding and packing up the rest of his clothes. We then comb thoroughly over Justin's walls, throwing out rough pencil sketches and posters and old school work. I press a tissue into Mary Beth's hand as we sort through Justin's various trinkets, only saving his tags, a small photograph, and an American flag.

Soon the room is void of all personal effects, which I find distressing. I slowly disassemble the furniture as Mary Beth and her mom make repeated trips to the truck, carrying the lighter boxes. Once the disassembly of the bed, desk, two dressers, bookshelf, and nightstand is complete, I carry as much of the wood as possible and stack it in the back of the truck, cursing when once of the nails slices my thumb.

Pressing my bleeding thumb on the hem of my shirt, I slowly make my way back to the room and take the rest of the wood and boxes to the truck, managing to squeeze the last box onto the front passenger seat.

I walk into Justin's now empty and immaculately clean room and shiver slightly. "Wasn't that renewing!" Ms. Tucker exclaims as she winds up the vacuum cord, her wide smile not quite reaching her eyes.

"It's such a great feeling! Emptying out the room and sending all of those things to goodwill!" She exclaims after several heavy moments.

I shake my head slightly, but Ms. Tucker doesn't see my subtle gesture. "Need any more help?" I ask, my voice low.

"Do you think that you could move Mary Beth's desk in here? That'll open up so much space in her room!"

The look of disgust and horror on Mary Beth face makes me recoil slightly. I glance at my watch, and fake a shudder. "Oh, look at the time!" I exclaim, looking pointedly at Mary Beth. "My leave is almost up for the day, so I must get going."

Ms. Tucker's face falls slightly, but she thanks me for my help and walks out of the room, mentioning something about making me a care package. I give Mary Beth a hug, and then slip Justin's tags around her neck. "It'll be ok," I whisper comfortingly.

Nodding unhappily, she swipes miserably at the tears that are trickling down her face. "Thanks for being here today," she murmured, pressing the tags against her chest.

"I'll see you around alright?" I say, giving her a quick hug. Nodding slightly, Mary Beth walks into her room, closing the door with a small snick.

* * *

 

I am splayed out across my bed after a hard day's work at the motor pool when my phone buzzes twice.

**Hey. Can Daphne and I come for a visit?**

**Hi Ty! Can Bay and I come for a visit!?1? :-D**

I laugh lightly, my spirits rising from two simple texts. Looks like things have been mended between Bay and Daphne, and frankly I couldn't be happier that they're getting along again.

 **Sure. Make sure 2 bring photo id and ask for Private Mendosa.**  I send the text to both of them, and I quickly jump up to change out of my sweaty clothes.

A little over half an hour later, the old corded phone in my room rings and I am notified by the front gate that I have two visitors- A Vasquez and a Kennish.

A few minutes later, I hear both Bay and Daphne rapidly knock on my door and calling my name. When I open it, I am met with squeals of elation as they both rush into my room.

Daphne jumps forward and gives me a tight hug. " _Wow Ty! The army's certainly done you some good in the muscle department_ ," she signed, poking my arms and stomach lightly. I scrunch my brows in confusion. It's been far too long since I'd been signing regularly. "She mentioned something about muscles, right?" I ask Bay. Bay nods and giggles lightly.

" _How have things been going?_ " I ask, glancing at Bay who's trying to hold back a laugh. "What?" I ask, looking at Daphne who is giggling. "You signed 'how have thongs been going?' instead of 'how have things been going'," Daphne answered, her smile wide.

"Opps," I say, blushing slightly. " _It's been a while since I've done_ _things_ _like this_ ," I sign correctly, emphasizing the fact that I'm signing.

Daphne rolls her eyes and bounces slightly on the edge of my bed. " _This bed is really comfortable and bouncy,_ " she said, winking at Bay who quickly turns scarlet. I snort slightly and roll my eyes at Daphne, ever the teaser that she is.

Daphne, Bay, and I spend the next two hours catching up on all the mundane things that we've missed, including Daphne's food truck adventures in East Riverside and Bay making the Dean's list.

" _Well I've got to go you two,_ " Daphne said, her expression slightly dejected. " _I've got some bills to read and summarize for John. He's quite the slave driver_."

Bay and I walk Daphne to the gate, waving goodbye to her until she's out of sight.

I clear my throat slightly. "Want to go for a walk?"

Bay smiles, and reaches to tightly lace her fingers through mine.

Her hand is small and warm in mine, and I squeeze back gently as we head towards the only green space available on base.

As we slowly walk towards the bench in the distance, I look down at our tightly laced hands. "Your signing is really good," I proudly tell her.

She smiles widely at me. " _Thank you_ ," she replied. "You need some more practice now that you're back. I'm willing to volunteer," she told me, poking my side gently.

As we sit down on the bench that overlooks a small creek, Bay presses close to me and lays her head on my arm. "This is nice," she sighs contentedly.

I don't say anything, instead choosing to relish in the comfortable silence that has settled between us.

As we sit together, I realize that I actually want this- this close, content relationship with Bay despite the difficulties that I'm facing with transitioning back to a normal routine in a relatively safe part of the world.

"Got any plans tomorrow evening?" I voice, my stomach twisting nervously.

"No," Bay answered, looking up at me with a soft smile.

"Do... do you want to go out for ice cream and a bike ride then?" I suggest.

"That sounds great," she answered, pressing a quick kiss to the underside of my jaw. When she pulls away, I can feel the heat coming off her face in waves. Smiling happily, I pull her tighter against my side and listen to the calming sounds of crickets chirping, the creek babbling, and Bay's steady and even breathing.


	6. Chapter 6- Just As The Dark Was Rising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: Mild swearing.
> 
> Chapter Titled Inspired By: You, My Everything- Ellie Goulding
> 
> After such a crummy finale for Bay and Ty, I made sure that this chapter had an overload of them. If you need another 'fix-it' fic for them, then check out my other stories, 'The Hands of Time', 'Because Loving Her Is:', and 'Take a Chance'.

The rain falls down in thick sheets, making it difficult to even see across the street to where Bay's car sits parked under an awning. Sighing, I turn away from the window and face Bay.

"When you think this is gunna let up?" Bay asks me, licking the drips off her ice cream cone.

"No idea," I admit, glancing down at my watch. "I don't think that we'll be able to do much bike riding though."

Bay snorts, "I don't think we'll be able to get any done."

"So what do you want to do then?" I ask, tossing my napkin in the garbage. "Another movie?" I suggest.

She quickly shakes her head. "I've seen wayyyyy too many movies as of late. Daphne and I have watched six in the last two days."

I look at her with a bemused expression. "Six in two days? Really?"

She nods at me. "Yup!" She says brightly. "We've watched Inception, the first 3 Harry Potter movies, Titanic, and Savages," she lists, ticking them off on her fingers.

"So... getting along great again?" I question.

Bay simply smiles. "She apologized for the whole Carlton thing."

"Ahh, you're talking about the whole stand-in thing right?" I ask, glancing out the window at the still blustery conditions.

"Mmmhm," she answered, finishing off her ice cream. "It's kind of a long story though," she said tiredly.

"I'm a good listener," I supply after a couple of moments of silence.

"Do you really want to know?" She questions, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Absolutely," I reply back, grinning slightly.

"Well you know the whole story about the school almost getting closed cause there wasn't enough funding and a whole bunch of the students- Deaf and hard of hearing and the hearing kids from the pilot program, took over the whole school during Romeo and Juliet to make sure that school would stay open, right?" She asks, barely pausing to take a breath.

I smile softly. "Ya, I read about all of that in the paper. But what does that have to do with you and Daphne?" I ask, already having a hunch of what happened between them.

"Well," she starts, fiddling nervously with a napkin. "During the stand in there was this debate on our demands. One of them was that the school have zero hearing kids in it. And Daphne... didn't stand up for me when all the people, who by the way were only there because I pulled the fire alarm, wanted to kick me out of the best school I've ever gone to!"

I look at her thoughtfully. "I'm sort of surprised that she didn't stand up for you. Back before the news of the switch all came down, Daphne was really protective of anyone she considered family," I inform her, my forehead creased in concentration. "This one time, there were these guys. You know the kind- testosterone filled, drug obsessed, and heading down the wrong path." She looks at me quizzically, but doesn't say anything. I shake my head slightly and smile in amusement. "Anyway, these guys were giving me a tough time for not wanting to join their 'gang'. One day they were really laying it into me, and Daphne saw and freaked out on them. Told 'em to never bother me again or they'd be sorry that they ever dared to mess with her 'brother'."

Bay smiles at me sadly. "I wish she had done that at Carlton... Y'know, stand up for me like I stood up for her in pulling the alarm, and standing by her when she almost burned down Buckner."

I laugh so hard that my ribs hurt. "She did what?" I ask, trying to catch my breath.

"Well she was making fries and the timer went off, but of course she can't hear the timer, so she burned the fries and basically started a grease fire," Bay informs me, a smile gracing her face.

"Did you know much ASL back then?" I ask curiously.

Bay's eyebrows scrunch together in concentration. "I honestly can't remember," she admits. "I've been doing it so often now that I barely remember life before signing."

I smile softly. "I remember feeling like that about a year after Daphne and Regina and I became... friends," I tell her, thinking back to when I was nine years old and finding Daphne and Regina curled up together in a beat up car under the bridge near my school and telling my great-aunt about them, who then let them stay with us until Regina had enough money to move into the house across the road with Adriana also moving in there after Regina had repaired their relationship.

"How long did it take you to become fluent?" Bay asks me, trying to peer out of the rain pelted windows.

I think back- I started learning just after I'd turned ten, and I remember easily talking with Daphne well before my eleventh birthday. "A little more than six or seven months I guess."

"And now you're back to being that ten year old boy," Bay teases cheekily. My smile falters slightly and I look away from Bay. I feel her gently squeeze my hand, her skin nearly white against my tanned hue. "Want an impromptu lesson?" She asks sweetly.

I try not to think of all the impromptu lessons that she and Emmett shared, probably while in bed together. "I... uh, sure.  _Sounds great_." I look at Bay's slightly devious smile, and I know that she has a long lesson planned ahead. My wrists and fingers are already beginning to ache in anticipation.

* * *

 

At some point during our lesson, the rain stops and the moon begins to peak through the clouds. I glance down at my watch and then back at Bay. " _It's time for me to go_ ," I sign easily.

" _Nice job signing tonight!_ " She says rapidly, her expression proud as she remains in her seat. I shrug on my jacket and shoot her a pointed look. "Alright, alright. Time to go then," she says, slipping on her jacket.

I hold open the door, and the follow close behind her. "I still can't believe you went to a Deaf school," I tell her, thinking of how good her signing was. "That is just... so you." Bay smiles widely at me.

"Want a ride back," she offers, gesturing at the empty passenger seat. The thought of another long and awkward car ride makes my stomach twist uncomfortably. I shake my head. I could use the walk to clear my mind anyway. "It's fine," I tell her. "I can walk."

The look of horror on her face is incredibly comical. "But it's like ten thousand miles away from here!" She exclaims.

I snort. "It is not that far- in fact it's only six miles from here."

"You sure you don't want a ride?" I nod slowly. "Ok," she hugs me tightly. "I'll see you tomorrow then? You have the day off right? We can celebrate the 4th together! I'll text you the dets." I nod again.

"See you then," I murmur shutting her door for her and watching her drive off into the darkness.

Zipping my jacket up to protect against the chill in the air, I quickly head out of the parking lot and onto the well-lit sidewalk.

The cool air is calming and it nearly drives away the feeling of intense jealousy and discomfort that I feel from the idea of Bay and Emmett together, in bed and slowly caressing each other. I shake my head at that thought and pick up speed, ignoring the pain from the blisters on my heels.

My boots make no noise as I silently and steadily walk back to base, avoiding the large puddles that had formed from the rain we'd gotten earlier. The near total silence contrasts the crunch of gritty dust and gravel that was consistently heard when I was over in Afghanistan, particularly during the day. Slowly I let the silence of the night envelope me until I think of nothing but my breathing and steadily putting one foot after the other until I meet the front gates a little over an hour after I watched Bay drive off.

Flashing my id at the security officers, I fall into step with Squid who had entered a few seconds before me.

"Evening," I grunt.

"Ty," he acknowledges. "How was your night? Didn't get caught in the rain did you?"

"No, no we didn't get caught. The ice cream was good. Forgot how much I missed mint-chocolate chip," I murmur. "How was dinner with your folks?"

"Nice. Shame I can't see 'em tomorrow, but they're going camping. Ryan is pretty good company though, even if all he can do is play video games until his cast comes off."

I offer him a small smile as I reach my barracks. "Night Squid, and Happy 4th," I say as I unlock the door.

"Night Ty, and a Happy 4th to you as well!" I hear him call out as he walks into the next set of male barracks.

I strip down to my boxers and slide into bed, closing my eyes before my head even hits the pillow.

* * *

 

The sound of my phone buzzing loudly on my wooden nightstand wakes me up. Blearily I reach for it, cursing when I knock it to the ground. Before I can pick it up, it buzzes again twice.

Flicking it on, I realize the messages are from Bay. Just as I get ready to send her a grumpy reply, the content of the texts stop me in my tracks.

**Ty, something is up with MB. She doesnt look good today.**

**Ty, MB started crying and saying something about Justin. Can u come to Maui now?**

**MB just asked 4 you. How fast can u get here?**

I quickly slip on a t-shirt and jeans and stuff my feet into a pair of sneakers.  **On my way.**

I grab my wallet and keys and then quickly jog out to my truck, driving as fast as I can without getting pulled over.

I spot Bay on the green bridge tightly hugging herself. "Bay!" I call out, rapidly walking toward her. "Where is she?" I ask, my stomach clenching in anxiety.

"Mack sent her home... She wasn't feeling too good," she tells me, her eyes roaming over my face.

I poke the tip of my tongue between my lips in concentration. "Alright, Imma head over there and check on her. I'll let you know how she's doing ok?" Bay nods miserably and I quickly clasp her shoulder before heading back to my truck.

In less than ten minutes I'm standing on Mary Beth's porch, rapidly ringing her doorbell several times in a row.

I see a shadow of movement behind the curtains and then the door slowly eases open and I am greeted by Mary Beth's damp and red face. "Oh, MB..." I sigh, walking inside. Justin's voice echoes in my ears- 'Promise me that you'll take care of my sister if anything happens, alright? And I promise that if anything happens to you, I'll take care of Bay.' I shake my head to clear his voice out of my mind.

Not saying anything, I step forward to envelop Mary Beth in a tight hug and soothingly rub her back. "It'll be ok," I whisper to her. She clutches me tightly, sobs racking her body.

"I miss him so much Ty!" She whimpered in my ear. "Thi-thi-this is my first Independence Day without him here... alive, and- and all his stuff is gone forever!"

I immediately understand why she was so upset; Justin told me about all the good Fourth of July celebrations that he and MB shared. From water gun fights where they used pop in place of water to watching live-streaming of firework shows from across the country, it always sounded like they had a good day together. And of course having his room emptied out was the cherry on top of the bitter cake.

Untangling myself from Mary Beth's embrace, I lead her to the couch and sit her down. I then head into the small washroom and dampen a washcloth, passing it to her when I sit down. "Thanks," she mumbles, wiping her face.

I hesitantly clear my throat. "I know that today is... tough for you. Justin told me last year about all the stuff he was missing out on by being over there on the 4th," I tell her as gently as I can. "But I know that he wouldn't want you to be down today. He'd want you to celebrate and be... happy."

"But how can I be happy without him here?" She asks, her voice rough from crying.

I chew on my lip. "Just... remember all of the good times?" I suggest.

"But... but what if think of those things makes me sad?" Mary Beth whimpers, twisting the washcloth between her hands.

I sigh and run my hand through my hair. "It might make you sad, but it will also make you happy too, wouldn't it?"

She nods slowly at me. "Can you tell me a happy memory about Justin?" She asks, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Hmm," I start, scratching the back of my neck as I try to find a memory that isn't too triggering for me to talk about. "Well, he actually helped me convince my Commander to put Bay's Axe Girl post up on our tank," I tell her, my spirits lifting at the sight of her watery smile.

"He did that for you?" She asks, her voice filled with emotion.

I nod. "He sure did. Certainly had a way with words. I don't think that the poster would have gone up without him."

Mary Beth hugs me so tightly that I can barely breath. "Thank you," she whispers in my ear.

"Do you want to tell me a happy memory? I ask, curious of what memory she might share with me.

She nods, "ok." She pushes glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Once... I was about nine and we were at Maui. I was ever so slightly too short to go on the rollercoaster." She holds her pointer and middle finger apart just a smidge. "I'd been looking forward to it for months and months, so I was really upset. Justin took me to a shoe store, and bought me a pair of sneakers that had a bit of platform to them; just enough of an edge to allow me to ride the ride with him. But, uh, before we left, Justin tried on a bunch of woman's shoes. Watching him wobble around in a pair of like, 6 inch heels, made laugh so hard that I nearly peed my pants!" Mary Beth exclaims, tears of joy streaming down her face. Her smile flickers slightly. "I still miss him a lot."

"It's ok to miss him, you know that right?" I say, still smiling from her story of Justin in heels; something that I can easily picture him doing even at the tender age of thirteen.

She sighs lightly. "I know."

My phone buzzes against my thigh, and I know it's Bay asking about Mary Beth. "Are you better now?" She shakes her head affirmatively.

"I think I'll take a bath and relax for a bit," she tells me, standing up.

I give her a tight hug. "Bay and I might pop by later, alright?"

She smiles slightly as she walks me to the door. "Thanks Ty," she tells me, her mood radically different than it was a couple of hours ago.

"No problem. Anything for you," I say as I pull my coat on and head outside.

* * *

 

I see Bay standing in the games ally, clutching a pineapple slushy. "How is she?" Bay blurts out as soon as I'm within arm's reach of her.

"Better. Thanks for looking out for her. I don't know what I'd do if something bad happened," I say, yet again recalling my promise to Justin.

"No problem," she tells me softly. "Umm, hey. While you were over at her place, I was thinking of ways that I could help cheer her up with it being the 4th and everyone being all patriotic and making her miss her brother." Bay then drags me away from the games ally and into the food section. I shoot her a bewildered look.

"So I know that she likes Mack," Bay whispers, glancing around suspiciously. " I thought that maybe us four could go on a double date tonight and play some mini golf, and just have a nice evening away from all that patriotic stuff," she tells me breathlessly.

I'm still slightly in shock that Mary Beth likes Mack of all people. "Ty, do you like the plan?" Bay asks, gripping my wrist gently.

"Sure. Sounds fine by me."

"Great," she says smiling widely. "Just let me talk to Mack and get changed, and then we'll go and pick up Mary Beth. "

"Baby baby Bay!" I hear a familiar booming voice call out. It's Mr. Kennish, one of the last people I want to run into on a day like this.

"Hello..." He starts, roaming his eyes over my face. "Tyler? Ty! Aha, Ty!" Mr. Kennish exclaimed, reaching to vigorously shake my hand.

"Hello Senator Kennish," I greet formally. "Congratulations on winning the election. I'm sure you'll service the good people of your riding exceptionally," I tell him as I internally cringe at the words that are coming out of my mouth.

"And thank you for your service in the name your nation," he responds, something akin to pride marking his features.

The air between the three of us quickly grows stiff as Bay rapidly glances back and forth at each of us. "Ty, do you think you could give me and my daughter a moment of privacy please?" He suggested firmly, all traces of respect and admiration gone from his face.

I stumble back, slightly afraid of the look he's giving me. "You, uh, you'll know where to find me," I tell her. "For the... thing tonight. The mini golf thing," I say rapidly as Senator Kennish's face grows even more cold.

As I quickly walk towards the parking lot, I can hear the tell-tale signs of a Bay sarcasm extravaganza bite into Mr. Kennish.

* * *

 

A short and slightly awkward car ride later, the four of us reach the mini-golf section at the small outdoor rec centre in the middle of KC.

I quickly pay for Bay's rental fees but notice that Mack hasn't done the same for Mary Beth, making me sigh heavily. If that's any indication of how the night will go, then this double date will be long and disastrous.

After we grab our clubs, Bay drags us to the first hole. "How about we compete on teams! Me and Ty will be one pair, and Mack and MB on the other!" She suggests cheerfully, pushing MB towards Mack.

"Umm, actually I think I'll sail down the course solo. I work best alone. No offence though, MB," Mack deadpans.

Bay looks shocked as Mary Beth's face falls and she quickly steps away from Mack. I immediately want to smack him. "Are you, uh, sure about that Mack?" Bay prods, awkwardly smiling at him.

"Absolutely. I am most certainly a solo shark," he chimed.

I want to pull my hair out. How had I not noticed how annoying Mack was outside of Maui?

"Really? We can even make a bet! I'm pretty sure you'll win considering how bad I am at sports," Bay tells them, her voice desperate and pleading.

Mack quickly shakes his head, and Mary Beth turns red with embarrassment. I step forward and tap Bay's elbow. "Don't force things," I murmur in her ear. She nods at me, looking sadly at Mary Beth.

Bay's prediction about being bad at mini golf is false and she surprises everyone by winning handily, seriously impressing me.

"Want something to drink?" I ask Bay, pulling out my wallet.

"Lemonade please," she replies, glancing between Mary Beth and Mack. I clear my throat awkwardly. "What about you MB?"

"Orange juice is fine," she whispers.

"Mack, could you help me carry the drinks while Bay and Mary Beth get us a table?" I say, glaring at him slightly. Stumbling over his feet, he rushes to the single food booth in the area. I snort. The guy is softer than melted butter.

Drinks and food in hand, we head to the table where Mary Beth and Bay sit opposite each other- no doubt a deliberate choice made by Bay. Placing the drinks on the table, I hand Bay a hot dog and then sit next to her, slinging an arm over the back of her seat. She scoots closer to me, pressing our legs against each other.

I glance up to see Mary Beth looking wistfully at me and Bay. She then shuffles her chair towards Mack under the guise of moving closer to the table. Mack obliviously edges his chair away, clearly thinking that Mary Beth accidently moved closer to him. I can feel Bay deflate under my arm, and I gently stroke the bare skin of her upper arm in a comforting manner.

Once we finish our food, Bay suggests that we head over to the go-kart track. Before she can propose another couples challenge, I shoot her a look. Mack mentions something about using the washroom and I wave him off.

"Umm, actually I think I'm just going to head home," Mary Beth mumbles, her eyes filled with disappointment.

"But maybe-," Bay starts to say, shutting her mouth when I subtly shake my head at her.

Mary Beth appears to have immediately heard Bay's unsaid words. "I'm not an idiot Bay. It's obviously he doesn't like me. Just like every other guy I've liked. I can't believe how stupid I was thinking that this might work out..." She trails off, swiping at a couple of stray tears.

I tightly wrap an arm around her shoulder. "Don't talk like that MB. Mack is the stupid one for not realizing how kind and caring and amazing you are."

"Then every single guy that I've ever like is stupid then. None of them have never noticed anything about me," she says angrily.

"That's right- they're all stupid if they didn't notice all the great things about you," I tell her proudly.

Something inside her lightens slightly, and she lets out a watery giggle. "Thanks," she whispers.

"The smell in the washrooms here could launch and then sink 10,000 ships!" I hear Mack call out to us. I rub my temples. I definitely like Mack a whole lot better when he's at Maui.

Mary Beth bends down to tie her shoes, and immediately shoots up and looks around wildly. "Justin's tags are gone!"

I quickly search the ground around us. I spot no silvery glint and neither does Mary Beth, resulting in a devastated expression on her face. "Alright, Bay and Mary Beth, you can search holes one though five, and Mack and I will look in the rest of the holes and the lunch area." They all nod quickly and head off to their respective sections.

I sprint to the ninth hole and use my carefully honed observation skills to rapidly search the putting area and the slowly rotating windmill. Seeing nothing, I jog to the next hole and leave Mack behind so that he can look over the section slowly. I repeat this process until I have no areas left to search, and Mack has finished his hunting as well. We meet back up with Bay and Mary Beth, where I know that they didn't find the tags either based on MB's expression. "Alright, I'm going to go and check the go-cart track and building."

"But we weren't even over there," Mary Beth protests weakly. I quickly shake my head. "Doesn't matter," I tell her.

"I'll go and check the parking lot and the truck," Mack suggests helpfully. I nod at him and toss the keys into his awaiting hands. I don't bother to threaten Mack to leave my truck as is. I'll just have to trust that he won't do anything stupid.

"Come on MB, we can go and talk to security at the entrance and search there as well," Bay proposes kindly. Mary Beth nods gloomily and allows Bay to pull her away.

I run to the kart track and stumble, landing in some prickly bushes. Ignoring the pain, I search the bushes and spot nothing. I quickly get up and slowly jog around the fence that encloses the track, endlessly scanning the asphalt for anything shiny. Still not finding the tags, I walk into the go-kart building. My heart nearly stops when I spot a glinting object, but I quickly notice that it is simply a piece of paper. I notify the clerks about the lost tags, and they promise me to look out for them.

Dejectedly, I slowly amble my way back to my truck where Bay sits alone. "Where are MB and Mack?" I quietly ask.

"I called a cab and convinced Mack to take her home. Did you find the tags?" She asks hopefully. I mutely shake my head and gesture for her to get in the truck.

We sit in silence for a couple of heavy minutes. "Can... can you explain the whole significance of the tags?" She questions hesitantly.

I bit my lip. "They're just a way of identifying everyone. That's all," I tell her simply, as I drive out of the parking lot. Bay doesn't look satisfied with my answer, but mercifully she remains quiet for the rest of the drive.

* * *

 

I've sent six texts to Mary Beth asking how she is and if someone has found Justin's tags, but I've received no reply from her. Turning my phone off, I grab my tube of polysporin and slather it onto several scratches that I'd received from my fight with the bushes last night. I am wiping the grease off my hands when there is a knock on my door. I open it and I am shocked to see Bay standing in my doorway. I must have missed the visitor notification phone call from a few minutes prior.

Bay looks at the scratches on my arms. "I'm sorry about last night," she whimpered. "I was trying to cheer Mary Beth up and all I did was make things worse. Not only did she lose her tags, but she got humiliated because of me too. I don't know what I was thinking when I invited Mack to come play with us. Like attention from some guy was going to make her feel better."

Her pained expression is incredibly gut wrenching. "Well it might've," I tell her truthfully. "It's not your fault that Mack is too stupid to see what's right in front of him."

She nods miserably at me. "What about us?" She starts, glancing up into my eyes. "Where do we stand?"

"I don't know," I mumble, avoiding her gaze.

"Do you even... do you even like me anymore?" She asks, her voice thick with emotion.

"Bay, I'm totally in... to you," I tell her, badly fumbling on my declaration that I'd been planning for nearly two years.

Her expression brightens but as her eyes roam my face, it falls again. "Are you sure? Sometimes I feel like you're just so distant from me. Every time we get close, you pull away."

I chew on the inside of my cheek. "I know. I'm sorry. I don't want to jerk you around. Maybe... maybe we should wait until my head is clearer... when I'm better and not so fucked up."

"Does this mean you don't want to see me anymore?" She asks sadly.

I vigorously shake my head. "Seeing you is the best part of my day," I tell her as I step closer and make the space between us more intimate. "It makes me remember the good days. Before I saw and experienced all of the... bad things." I then move my hands to cup her face, a move that startles both of us. "I want to be close to you," I declare, meeting her eyes.

Bay leans close to me; less than a centimetre separating our lips. "Then let yourself," she breathes.

I gently pull her face towards mine and our lips meet in a powerful kiss, making me forget everything else in the world but Bay and the feeling of her lips on mine and her hands in my hair as she pulls our bodies tightly against each other.


	7. Chapter 7- Crashing Into The Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: Moderate swearing, mild mentions of sexual situations.
> 
> Chapter Titled Inspired by: Ships in the Night- Mat Kearney

Bay slips one of her arms tightly around my neck, drawing us ever closer together. I slide my hands from her shoulders to her head and free her hair from its constraining ponytail; her dark and straightened locks cascade down her back in a shiny wave. Bay whimpers into my lips slightly as I tangle my hands in her hair and press my lips ever more firmly against hers. In turn she hooks her fingers into the belt loops of my jeans, grinding against my lower body firmly. I then gently bite her lower lip and slowly probe my tongue between her lips, waiting for any resistance from her. Instead of resistance, I am met with a sense of forcefulness as Bay quickly meets me halfway and firmly clutches the back of my head. After several passionate minutes, I pull back ever so slightly, needing air. My lips tingle and I can still taste Bay on my tongue- oranges, coconut, wood smoke, and something just uniquely Bay. I have craved this taste for two long years, and finally my thirst has been fulfilled.

At some point I must have pressed Bay against the wall, effectively trapping her. She studies me through heavy lidded eyes and arches her neck slightly, sliding her hands up my chest. I easily know what she wants, and I lick my lips in anticipation. I bend my head and start at the pressure point just behind her jaw and I work my forward and downward, increasing the pressure from my lips and teeth as I go along. Bay moans loudly when I reach the spot where her neck meets her shoulder, and I focus my attention there until I feel her tug on my hair. Smiling widely, I pull back and meet her gaze.

With a slight smirk, Bay stretches onto her toes and presses her lips firmly against my neck, spending significant amounts of time on the hallow of my throat. It doesn't take too long until I almost lose control and nearly throw Bay on the bed. I need to be even closer to her than we are now with our bodies pressed firmly together. Lettering her continue her ministrations, I lower my hands to cup her bottom, and easily pick her up to settle her on my desk. Bay smacks her back against the small attached shelving unit and knocks several of my books to the floor. "Sorry," she giggles. I kiss her again, laughing as I do so.

The happiness that is shining though her eyes makes me feel as though things might be alright for us, and for me- that maybe, just maybe something so good and pure will be in my life permanently.

Bay looks at me curiously. "What's running through your head, soldier?"

I gently stroke my thumb over her cheek. "Are- are you sure about this?" I voice nervously, not only asking her about the precarious situation we're in with her legs tightly wrapped around my waist.

She smiles simply at me. "Absolutely," she says pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. "On all accounts," she adds softly.

With her reassurances, I return my lips to hers. Before we can even get my shirt off, Bay's phone rings. She ignores it, and continues to skim her nails up and down my back. The phone rings again and Bay pays it no heed.

It is when Bay tugs at my belt that I slip a hand into my desk drawer and pull out the long string of condoms. "Expecting a long night?" Bay cracks, her face brightly flushed.

I too can feel heat rolling off of my face- something that's never happened in a situation like this. "They hand these out to everyone at the middle of the month meetings," I tell her, not wanting Bay to think that she's simply a conquest for me when she's so much more.

Her lips return to my neck, her teeth grazing over my pounding pulse point. Just as I had slipped my hands under her shirt, Bay's phone rang again. "Maybe you should answer that," I tell her, my lips skimming over hers. She shakes her head, and begins to slip off her sweater. Just as I had tossed it behind me, Bay's phone rings again. Sighing impatiently, Bay untangles legs from around my waist and slides off the desk to pick up her discarded phone. "Yes!?" She spits out. I smile slightly. Oh how I'd dearly missed the infamous wrath of Bay Kennish. The smile slides off of my face as her expression grows panicky and she immediately slides her sweater on and jams her feet into her sneakers.

"What is it?" I ask worriedly, my mind drifting to Regina having a drunken accident. I give my head a shake. Both Bay and Regina have told me that she's clean. I need to trust that Regina has stayed that way.

"It's my dad," she chokes out, a lone tear sliding down her face. "Regina just called and said he had a heart attack and is in emergency surgery. I need to go," she whimpers as she slides her sweater back on.

"I'll drive you," I offer, tucking Bay under my arm. She doesn't say anything, simply clutching my hand firmly.

* * *

 

The smell of the hospital makes my stomach violently coil,and I nearly run out of the room. I shake my head and take a deep breath- I'm here for Bay, and she needs me to be here for her. We spot Daphne and Toby immediately, both of whom are pacing around the waiting area in tight circles. It take me a few seconds to find Regina, but I spot her seated in a dark corner with her head ducked. I tug gently on Bay's hand and guide her to where Regina is seated with a box of tissues at her side. I sit down and then pull Bay onto my lap, angling her to face Regina. We both simultaneously reach out to clutch Regina's hand, making her heave heavily. "Oh you two," she whispers, her voice thick.

Despite the numbness in my legs and hands, I don't dare move or let go of Regina or Bay's hands despite being in the same position for over four hours. Bay's head is tucked onto my shoulder, and I can still feel the hot and steady tears that still fall against my neck. I feel waves of guilt wash over me because I can't comfort her or Regina or Daphne. I pull Bay tighter against me, and swipe some of her hair off her face. I then gently stroke several of the love bites that I can see forming on her neck, sadly recalling how Bay's expression had gone from elated to miserable in less than a second.

"Thank you," she whispers into my ear. Her breathing finally evens out and she falls asleep, allowing for some of my guilt and strain to slide off.

Not long after Bay had fallen asleep and Daphne had settled down in the chair across from me with her side pressed against Emmett's, a tired doctor appears. Regina quickly rushes over to him, smashing into a chair and startling Bay awake.

"How is he!?" She blurts out.

The doctor smiles warmly at her. "It was a relatively mild heart attack and as such it was a fairly simple procedure. Your timely admission of CPR saved his life Ms. Vasquez. Had you not been there shortly after he collapsed, chances are that he would have died." He then shakes Regina's hand, and mumbles something about talking to Mrs. Kennish about medication and lifestyle changes.

Bay slides off my lap and rushes to give Regina a tight hug. I stand and stretch my back, Daphne doing the same. As I look at Daphne, I notice that she has turned paler than I've ever seen her before. I tightly wrap an arm around her shoulder. "It'll be ok Smiley," I tell her comfortingly. She whimpers into my shoulder, and I hug her even tighter. I then glare at Emmett who is looking wistfully at Bay. This isn't the time or the place for that sort of thing.

After her short visit with the still comatose Mr. Kennish, Bay slips into my truck and I quickly drive her back to the condo. "Want me to come up?" She mutely shakes her head, and tugs her sweater up higher in an attempt to hide the dark hickeys that have appeared on her neck. Her guilty expression has made me feel even more guilty than I already do.

I smile at her sadly, trying to make the best of the situation. "Call me whenever there's some news alright?" I tell her, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. She nods at me slightly. Bay then slides out of the truck and slowly makes her way inside the lobby. Running a hand through my hair, I drive away from the condo and into the blackness of the night.

* * *

 

 

Finally after six long and painful days, I receive a message from Bay.

**Dad is awake and good. Discharged day after tomorrow. Will be spending time with fam for next few days. -B**

I decide not to message her back, instead leaving her to that much needed father-daughter time. I slip my boots on and ponder what to do. Aida is on sick leave, Squid is with his brother in the hospital because his leg didn't heal correctly and MB is with her mother visiting family in Texas. After several long moments, I decide to pay Justin a visit- something I haven't done in far too long.

Tucking a couple of pictures into my pocket, I start the long jog to the cemetery and attempt to clear my thoughts as various houses flash by and my feet begin to ache.

I reach the cemetery in a little over two hours and I quickly make my way to the back right section where Justin lays alongside his grandmother and dad.

Justin's grave marker mostly matches that his other family members- a simple name encryption, along with a standard title- his of course being 'loving brother and son, and proud soldier'. What I like most about Justin's final resting place are the ancient ruins that mark the edges of the headstone, something that Mary Beth had arranged to be done on her own.

Sighing sadly, I settle on the ground and lean my back against the back of the grave marker- a sad mirroring of a position that we often took together; sitting on the ground and leaning against each other's backs in order to keep our heads off of the ground.

I slip out the first set of photo booth pictures- this one features me and Mary Beth dressed up in Canada Day garb; our way of honouring the Canadian soldiers that Justin and I worked side-by-side with in Afghanistan.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been visiting much as of late," I start, tipping my head back to look at the cloudless sky.

"Mary Beth really misses you. She was pretty bummed out on the Fourth of July without you here." I take a calming breath and pull out a small roll of tape. Scooting around, I tape the first strip of photos on the back of the gravestone alongside several other sets of pictures.

"MB and I had good time celebrating Canada Day y'know. We played a little hockey, ate some poutine and maple fudge, and talked about world peace," I tell him simply, almost hearing his laughter in the distance. I tuck the roll of tape back into my pocket and settle back against Justin's headstone, fiddling with my shoelaces. "It was a nice day," I finish lamely, slipping out the second set of photos.

I let the silence envelope me as I finger the photo booth picture strip of Bay and I that we had taken together two weeks after I'd first 'ran into' her. In this strip of photos, Bay is dressed up in her Maui garb, ready for her first shift on a games booth that wasn't Shark Surf. The green flower in her hair gives it a particularly red tint that I still find intoxicating.

"You would've really liked Bay," I tell Justin as I tape the photos onto the headstone. "She probably would have adored you too. You both share that whole 'helping people and animals thing'. I can only imagine the trouble that you'd have gotten into if you hung out together," I say, smiling at an image of Bay and Justin visiting multiple animal shelters together daily, both of them cuddling with cats and playing with dogs.

"She's so amazing. Ever more than I remember from a few years ago," I whisper, a small smile gracing my lips.

I walk to the front of Justin's grave and pull my knees up my chest, resting my head on my arms. "I don't know what I'm doing though," I admit. "I... I don't know how to really be in a relationship. How to... to- uh, love someone without being afraid." I can feel the heat pour off of my face, and I glance around to see if anyone has heard what I told Justin. The only people here are an elderly couple and they are much too far away to have heard what I said.

I pull out several blades of grass and toss them into the air, watching as the wind blows them away. "I wish you hadn't done this," I mutter. "I need your advice now more than ever." I stand up and brush my pants off, jogging back to base.

* * *

 

My phone is silent for two days before I decide to fire off a quick message to Bay.

**How's ur dad?**

A couple of minutes later, she replies.  **Good. Being a PITA. Wont eat right or do his meds. Daph is stressed out...**

Why am I not surprised by this? Leave it to John Kennish to waste perfectly good medication and healthy food at the expense of his family. Before I can send Bay another message, my phone buzzes.

**Off for another infamous Kennish family dinner. Ttyl.**

Sighing, I toss my phone onto the nightstand, and pick up my well-worn copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I don't know what to do with myself other than work and sleep and read.

This time four long days have passed without a word from Bay. I desperately want to call her and comfort her with my words, but I honestly have no idea on what to say or how to say it. I swipe at thin layer of sweat that is trickling down my brow. A cold shower is certainly in order once I finish up on this last Humvee order for the week.

Just as I had locked my tool box away, my phone buzzes against my thigh. I quickly slip out of the view of my superiors and pull my phone out of my pocket. I glance down and notice I have a text from Mary Beth. Suppressing a sigh, I unlock my phone to read the message.

**Bay is at work tday if u want 2 c her.**

I bite my lip firmly. I don't have anything else to do today or for the next three days for that matter, but does she want to see me? MB's text must mean that Bay wants to see me.

Taking a deep breath, I gather up my car keys and quickly head to my truck, speeding towards Maui.

For once I manage to get out of the truck without hesitating. However the small victory is lost as Bay's glum expression makes my insides ache. I slip past Shark Surf and head towards Tropica-Freezeville, buying Bay her much loved pineapple slushy.

I see her engaged in quiet conversation with Mary Beth as I approach the Shark Surf stand, novelty pineapple cup in hand. "Someone looks like they could use a pineapple slushy," I chime at her, placing the cup down.

She quickly grabs it and takes a sip. "Thanks," she murmurs, a small smile gracing her lips.

"No problem," I whisper, leaning closer to her. Out of the corner of my eye I see Mary Beth smile at us before walking off to give us some privacy. "So," I start. "How are things?"

"Better. Daphne finally knocked some sense into him," she told me, a wry grin plastered on her face.

"And you?" I prod gently.

"Tired. Just really tired," she admits.

I awkwardly scratch the back of my neck. "Well tomorrow there's a barbecue on base and I was wondering if you'd like to come? Meet some of my mates and maybe... maybe, uh- well y'know. If your curfew is long enough," I stammer, my insides twisting with shame that I'd brought this up today.

Thankfully Bay doesn't look pained or angry that I'd brought this up. "Sure," she says, her checks flushed. "Need me to bring anything? I'm honestly dying for some junk food after two weeks of nothing but greens."

My shoulders sag in relief. "Bring anything you want. Fried and greasy usually goes over well with most of us."

Bay snorts comically. "Alabama Al's, it is! What time do you want me to be there?"

"Well it starts at 4, so 3:30 perhaps? It ends at 9... after that we can head back to my room if you want," I tell her quietly.

She smiled softly at me. "Ok. Sounds good... All of it," she replies, her face even more reddened than it was earlier.

I press a chaste kiss to her lips. "I need to get going. Leave is almost up," I inform her. "Tell MB that she can come to the barbecue if she wants. Just, uh, say it ends at 8."

Bay looks at me, her brown eyes sparkling. "Alright. See you tomorrow."

* * *

 

Before I know it, the front gate has informed me that Kennish is here to see me and that they directed her to the grassy field where I currently stood under a tent. I had just lit the grill and handed the tongs to Riggs when I hear the crunch of Bay's footsteps.

"Bay Kennish reporting for duty!" She calls out, swinging the bags that she was carrying.

"At ease," I tell her as I quickly study the appreciative glances that Peanut, Riggs, Jennings, and Squid are sending Bay. "Guys this is Bay and she brings us greasy food!"

"My infamous Alabama's Al's- Fried mac and cheese, and bacon cheddar tater-tots," she cheerily informs us. "Where should I put this?" She questions, glancing down at the full table.

"Just put 'em here lovely," Peanut told her, holding out his stump. "I'm Peanut by the way," he informed her as she gingerly slides the bags onto his arm. "And that's Jennings, Riggs, and Squid, and of course Tyler," he informed her, pointing respectively at each of us.

Bay laughs nervously, earning a smile from Peanut. I can feel some of the tension melting off of me already. Four people down and one to go.

I stand at the cooler getting Bay and I lemonades as she makes small talk with Peanut while they unpack the rest of the lunch. Before I can even sit down, Bay grabs a beer and plops comfortably onto a lawn chair. "No, no, no," I chastise her. "I've met your dad remember?" She sulks slightly and puts the beer back, glaring at me.

"Actually I'm more afraid of what Regina would do if she knew I let you have a beer," I admit. Bay blanches and quickly snatches the red cup of lemonade from in front of her.

"Snakebite anyone!" Aida calls out as she walks towards us, waving two jugs in the air as the guys cheer. I nearly smack her. I'd asked Aida to not bring any booze because neither Bay nor Squid could drink.

"Hey Riggs, new leg is looking great I see! Peanutttt! When's the new hand coming in?" Aida calls out confidently, pouring out several cups of her homemade poison. Bay looks quizzically at me, her eyes cast slightly downwards.

"Bay this is Aida, Aida this is Bay," I state diplomatically, wishing that Aida had introduced herself to Bay.

Aida looks Bay up and down dismissively. "Hey art girl," she said. "How's it hanging?"

I sigh in relief. Aida actually likes Bay, even if she's acting like she doesn't. "Hey," Bay replied, her voice filled with nervousness.

I scoot my chair closer to Bay's and clasp her hand tightly in mine. She then leans her head on my arm and glances at Riggs who is finishing up at the grill.

"Dinner is served!" Jennings calls out, snatching the platter of meat away from Riggs and placing it on the table.

"Isn't this more like lunch?" Bay asks him sarcastically. Everyone but Aida laughs at the quip. I send her a sharp glare, and she raises an eyebrow in mock confusion.

I pass Bay and plate, and everyone quickly begins serving themselves. I settle back in my chair, waiting for Bay to finish plating. I then pile the rest of the food onto my plate and tuck in.

Bay groans slightly as she takes a bite of the steak that Riggs had grilled specifically for her. "This is amazing," she tells him appreciatively. He sends her a small smile in return.

"Speaking of amazing, you gotta try this," Aida tells her, passing her a cup of the snakebite. Bay grips my hand tighter, and I have a feeling that she's thinking of Regina's alcoholism. "No thanks. I'll stick with this," she said, taking a sip of her lemonade.

Aida rolls her eyes and passes two cups to each of Peanut, Jennings, and Riggs. Both Squid and I pass on her offer, earning another eye roll from Aida.

The next few minutes are filled with snippets of conversation about various deployments and prosthetic limb advancements. Bay is silent, but I can see the gears turning in her head as she studies Aida. I sincerely hope that she isn't going to ask Aida about being a woman in the army. Her head will most certainly be chewed off if she does.

Bay clears her throat beside me. "So what's it like- being a woman in the army?" I sidelong glance at Aida, silently hoping that she will take it easy on Bay.

"I don't know how being a woman makes much of a difference. It's pretty hard either way," she replies loftily. I can feel Bay visibly shrink beside me.

"So what do you do then?" Bay asked Aida, her voice small.

"I'm an army medic. I served alongside everyone but Squid in Kabul," Aida answers passionately. "I bandaged all their paper cuts and kissed their skinned knees for the most part."

"Pffft. You did a lot more than that," I exclaim, wanting to tell Bay exactly what Aida had done.

Bay looks at me curiously. I twist in my chair to face her. "There was this one time when a vehicle hit a roadside bomb, and everyone but this one guy managed to get out safely. Instead of waiting until the firing insurgents were taken care of, she goes into the wrecked Humvee and drags this guy out, and he's like 6'7" and 270lbs-"

"This guy seemingly gets bigger each time you tell this story," Aida interjects.

I ignore her and continue on. "So this guy is huge and she manages to drag him out of the wreck and carry him to safety as they're being fired on by the insurgents. And all the while she's completely covered in bruises and scrapes. It was simply amazing," I finish, smiling proudly at Aida.

"I thought she got all of those bruises from 'hanging out' with you though?" Riggs quipped, taking a long gulp of his drink.

The air immediately grows awkward as Bay drops my hand and edges her chair away from me. I firmly bite my tongue. Things had been going so well up until just now.

* * *

 

An awkward hour later, Bay excuses herself, feigning exhaustion. Tossing my napkin down, I quickly follow her retreating form.

"Bay!" I call out to her, reaching for her shoulder and turning her to face me. "What's the rush?" I ask, my voice pleading.

"Oh like you don't know," she spit out. "How could you do this to me!? Humiliate me by making me meet up with your stupid little fuck buddy!?"

I stare at her, shocked by the harsh language that has poured out of her mouth.

"It's not like I did that to you when you saw Emmett the other day when we were at the hospital!" She continues on, twisting out of my grip. "I haven't even slept with him! Or anyone for that matter! Even if I did, I wouldn't embarrass you by pumping up my ex right in front of you!" She yells at me, her hair growing frizzier by the second.

Bay was a virgin? I'd always assumed that she'd slept with someone already, even back when we'd first met. "Can I give you a ride home?" I offer shakily.

She glares at me. "No. Regina is already on her way."

I can see the unshed tears in her eyes. "Bay," I start weakly. "I've never hooked up with Aida. Or anyone while I was over there for that matter," I tell her, the food in my stomach turning sour at the thought of being with Aida like that. "And-" I start, my heart pounding rapidly.

"And what?" Bay prods angrily.

"Aida is my half-sister," I mutter, looking away.

I- she's...what!?" Bay exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock.

"Well... she's-" I start to tell her shakily, reaching to tightly clutch her hands in mine. "She's my half-sister from my mom's side," I tell her seriously.

Bay glares at me and wrenches her hands out of my grasp. "You're a dirty fucking liar," she spits out, shoving me backwards as she sprints away.

Before I can reach out to her, she has sprinted out of the security area and into Regina's waiting car.


	8. Chapter 8- It'll Be By Your Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: Non-graphic violence, moderate swearing and moderate descriptions of sexual situations.
> 
> Chapter Title Inspired By: I Lose Myself- One Republic
> 
> Italics indicate a nightmare is occuring. Bold is for text messages.

I stand there stunned for several minutes, staring at the dust that Regina's old car had kicked up as it sped away. I can hear two pairs of foot steps behind me, but I don't bother turning around to see who it is. I'm pretty sure I already know who it is by the sound of their footfalls anyway.

"Sorry Mendy," I hear Riggs murmur behind me.

"Me too," Aida chimes in.

I nod slightly. I don't feel like talking to either of them at the moment considering that they had ruined things between me and Bay, however temporary it may be. Riggs reaches out to clasp my shoulder and I manage to suppress the urge to flinch and violently knock his arm off; it is a small victory that lifts my spirits ever so slightly. "If you need me to, uh, help out with anything, let me know." Riggs then walks away, his boots crunching on the gravel.

"Ty," Aida ventures, stepping into my line of sight. "Did you tell Bay about us- about how... how we're related? That she doesn't have anything to worry about? We did discuss that you could tell Bay- just like we talked about me telling Justin."

I nod my head miserably. "She didn't believe me though," I say as I slowly make my way back to my barracks.

Before I can head to my room to take a nap, Aida tugs on my wrist. "Just show her the test results- the one's we got when we got the DNA stuff done way back when; during training in Fort B," she pauses slightly, studying me. "You don't know where your copy is do you?"

A small grin unwillingly graces my face as I think of the messy stack of papers in my bottom desk drawer. "Nope."

Aida rolls her eyes. "Wait here," she tells me firmly before jogging over to the female barracks.

I glance around the empty common area with disdain. Not only is no one is here because they're all out at the barbeque and enjoying the warm summer evening, they're not here because the common room is filled with useless crap that never works properly.

Aida's deliberately noisy footsteps shake me from my negative thoughts. "Here," she says, handing me the thin envelope. "Uh, just don't lose it ok?"

I raise an eyebrow at her retreating form. Aida certainly is weird sometimes. Shaking my head, I go to my room and tuck the envelope into my jacket pocket. Part of me is hopeful that Bay will send me a message, asking to meet up at Maui so that we can talk things out. The bitter part of me is thinking that I'll have it in my jacket pocket just in case I return to the barbeque later and need to give the test results back to Aida.

Sighing heavily, I slip my boots off and fall onto my bed, making sure to turn the volume up on my phone. My eyes close with Bay's hurt expression at the forefront of my mind.

* * *

_I stand in front of my Humvee, Bay's poster behind me. To my left, Justin and Aida talk quietly with their hands linked tightly. I allow a small smile to grace my lips and return to digging through my duffle bag, handing out the last packs of gum to the kids that have crowded around us. Once the packs of gum are gone, the translator murmurs out a long string of Arabic and most of the children scamper away quickly._

_"Hi!" The little girl with the purple and gold head scarf from yesterday squeaks at me, rapidly waving her arm in my direction._

_I smile widely at her, my spirits rising at the sight of her joyful expression. I notice she is tightly clutching the soccer ball that I gave her yesterday and I point to the boys that are running around on the dusty field. "Go play with them and have fun!"_

_She looks apprehensively at the field and then back at me several times._

_"Go on- "_

_"Zahara," she whispers to me, looking fugitively around the area. "I will go and play... Private Mendy-oh-za," she states simply as she studies my nametag._

_I laugh at her pronunciation of my name as she runs onto the field, waving the ball proudly in the air. One of the boys snatches it from her and begins playing, shoving Zahara away from the pitch. She tries to join in with them again, but another boy shouts at her as he pushes her away. Zahara's shoulders slump as she looks helplessly back at us and then back at her soccer ball._

_"Boys!" Aida calls out loudly. "Let her play!"_

_They ignore her, even when the translator quickly shouts out Aida's words in Arabic._

_"Let her play! Let her play," Justin, Riggs, and I all yell simultaneously._

_The boys finally relent and let Zahara join in with them. I hear Aida shriek behind me, and I turn to see Justin has tossed her onto his shoulder. I roll my eyes again, and turn back to face the field._

_I search for Zahara's bright headscarf, only when I find it, it is not Zahara wearing it. Not unless she's grown a foot taller and became significantly paler in the last twenty seconds._

_A man with a patchy orange beard suddenly sprints onto the pitch and starts screaming intelligibly at Bay and the little boys. I look at Saeed who is clearly baffled by what is happening, only offering a shrug when I ask for a translation._

_"What's going on?" I ask as the man begins pulling on Bay's arm._

_"He... he is her guardian. I am sorry, but there is nothing we can do," Saeed tells me sadly._

_My heart lodges in my throat as the man tosses Bay roughly into the car, slamming the door harshly. I hear her scream as blood splatters on the back window and then the car speeds away._

_I bend over and violently vomit onto the ground, swiping away several tears as Bay is driven further and further away from me._

A loud buzzing on my nightstand wakes me up. Disoriented, I glance out of my window at the sun that is high in the sky and I then turn to my alarm clock which reads 1:39pm. Had I really slept close to 18 hours? Wiping the gunk out of the corners of my eyes, I gingerly pick up my phone, my heart thumping nervously. I am pretty sure Bay sent me the text as Mary Beth, Aida and the guys are all working. Clicking the home button on my phone, I see that like I had predicted, it was Bay who had sent me a message. I can feel my hands sweating profusely at the thought of the contents of Bay's message. What if she never wanted to see me again? I'm not sure I could handle something like that happening. I take a deep breath and unlock the screen, revelling Bay's text.

**Hi. Can we talk in person?**

I relax slightly after rereading the message several times. Bay wants to talk. That has to mean something good for us.

 **Ok. When?** I type out quickly.

She responds in less than thirty seconds.

**Green bridge at 6?**

I take a deep breath. Maui is a place of happiness- not only for me alone, but for us as well. Bay's usually a sentimental person. If she wanted to end things, she'd probably have invited me to Angelo's condo or somewhere where we haven't had good memories together. I have reason to be optimistic about tonight's conversation.

 **Sounds good. C u then.** I am so optimistic that I send Bay the message without a second thought.

I stuff my phone into my pocket and look around my room. It's a terrible mess and if things go well between us, I don't want Bay's first time to be on a pile of dirty laundry. I bend over and quickly begin tossing my dirty clothes into the laundry basket which I promptly stuff into my small closet. The room instantly looks a million times better, but there is certainly more that I can do to make things special for Bay.

I quickly change the sheets on my bed and place a couple of extra pillows on top of my lone flat one. I then take down my shot targets and slip them into my desk drawer along with most of my other posters. I decide to leave the few photos that I have up as well as the small trinkets that I have sitting on my dressers. A sudden thought flashes through my mind, and I quickly slip out of my room and knock rapidly on Riggs' door.

He slowly edges the door open. "Ty?" He asks, his voice filled with shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you have any candles and matches?" I ask, knowing that Riggs would be the one person with any base banned object in his room.

He glances up and down the hall before slipping back into his room, motioning for me to follow him.

"What's this about?" He questions, rummaging around the room that he shares with Peanut.

I can feel heat flood my face. "Bay," I mumble.

Riggs wisely doesn't make any cracks, simply handing me a paper bag. "Do you want me to come a light them for you just before you both get here?"

I nod gratefully at him, avoiding eye contact. "I'll text you," I say as I slip out of the room.

I take several minutes to place the candles around the room in the most eye pleasing matter that I can manage. I then look at my cd player, debating if I should put it away or not. Would music be a good idea? I might as well give it a shot. I scan the stack of cds that sit in my closet and I pull out a Keith Urban one that I'd bought shortly after Bay and I had first met.

I spare another glance around the room, trying to think of what else I can do for Bay. It is when I look at the rows of candles when I suddenly wonder if they give off enough light to see each other clearly without being overly bright. The lamps would be far too bright, and I wish that they had dimmer switches. Suddenly I come up with the idea of draping t-shirts over the lamps to create dim light.

I slide open a drawer and pull out some of my t-shirts, carefully draping and arranging them over the lamps. I turn the overhead light off, resulting in my room having the soft glow that I was hoping to get. Opening my mini-fridge, I pull out the bottle of sparkling apple juice that I'd bought a while ago for no particular reason. I set the bottle next to a pair of coffee cups, the only glassware that I have in the room.

Finally I am satisfied with the room. I glance towards the drawer where the condoms are stashed and pull a single one out, placing it on the back corner of my nightstand. I slip out of my sweat soaked clothes and pull out the nicest jeans and shirt that I own, and quickly head to the showers.

* * *

 

I stand on the bridge, my heart pounding like a sledgehammer in my chest. Bay is five minutes late and I'm terrified that she isn't going to show up. I finally hear a pair of tentative footsteps head towards me and I look down, all of my earlier optimism and confidence gone.

"Wow, not even a psycho meltdown can scare you away," Bay said as she moved to stand in front of me.

"Is- is that what you want?" I croak out.

"No," she whispers. "Unless that's what you want."

I audibly sigh in relief. "No... that's definitely not what I want."

Bay smiles slightly and she sits down on the steps. "Ty... Is Aida really your half-sister?"

"Yes," I murmur, fingering the letter in my jacket.

"I- you both look alike. I don't know why I let those comments get to me," Bay stutters, blushing deeply.

A sense of pride fills me; I'm happy that Aida and I share features and that others notice them. "Do- do you, uh, want to go for dinner? We can talk about... stuff," I hesitantly suggest.

"Ok," Bay replies simply. "Angelo was suppose to take me to this café the other day but... he got called away on baby duty."

"Lead the way," I say, gesturing towards the parking lot.

* * *

 

The café is busy, but we manage to snag an outside table that is slightly more isolated from the many people milling about than the other tables available. I pull Bay's chair out for her and then sit down in my own. We are both silent for a couple of minutes other than when we order lemon waters and turkey sandwiches, along with chocolate cake for Bay and macaroons for me.

After the waitress brings us our waters, I clear my throat and hand Bay the DNA test results.

She studies them quickly, glancing up at me several times. "I'm sorry for not believing you," she murmurs as she folds the letter back up.

"I'm sorry for making it seem like it was something that it wasn't," I tell her seriously. "I shouldn't have hurt you like that."

Bay bites her lip as she looks at me intently. "I forgive you," she said.

I nod at her and take a long sip of water. "Do you want to know anything? Like how we found out and stuff?"

Bay leans back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. "Can- can I ask anything I want?"

I chew on my lip in thought. This is far too similar to our conversation about my tattoo than I would like. But then again, that conversation went very well and after all, I don't have anything to hide from Bay. "Go ahead," I say as I take a bite out of my turkey roll.

"What made you get the DNA test?" Bay asks quietly.

I smile sadly. "Early on in training my Sergeant asked if serving in the army was a family thing, and if my sister and I enlisted together," I pause, trying to gauge Bay's reaction. Her small encouraging smile spurs me on. "I asked him what he meant and he seemed puzzled that I didn't know that he was talking about Aida. I'd never met anyone named Aida at that point."

"Really?" Bay asks, her eyes widened in surprise.

I nod. "So I asked around and finally met Aida. We hung out together a lot and I eventually asked Aida about us being related."

"You? You really asked about it just like that?"

My cheeks heat up slightly and I lower my gaze away from Bay's. "Not exactly... I, uh, I asked if Aida was named after her mom. She laughed and told me that she was named after her grandmother, and that her mom's name was Mirra," I pause again, taking a deep breath. "It was then that I knew she was really my half-sister, and that we had listed the same mother on our enlistment forms. We talked about it and we arranged to have the test done."

"Oh," Bay starts. "That's all that happened? Like you didn't compare birth certificates or anything?"

I shake my head, smiling faintly. "No. Nothing like that. I'm still surprised that she didn't think I was a lunatic or something."

Bay's musical laughter makes my heart swell. "Are you sure she doesn't think that now?" She asks sarcastically.

The quip nearly leaves me choking on my macaroon."What else do you want to know?" I say after I take a sip of water.

"Does your mom know about you knowing? Have you met her? Do you have any other siblings? What happened? Like why did you not know about Aida until recently?" Bay asks rapidly, her eyes shining with interest.

I chew my lip in concentration. Some of these questions make me very uncomfortable, particularly the last one. I spare another glance at Bay and I immediately know that she should know about this- and that I want her to know about this.

"Am I asking too many questions?" Bay inquires after she finishes her chocolate cake.

I shake my head. "No, no. It's fine," I start, looking into her bright eyes. "My... my mom does know that I know. And I haven't met her. Not since I was about four anyway. No other siblings either- not on that side that is," I disclose, deliberately leaving out my dad's other family.

Bay's expression melts slightly and she reaches to clutch my hand in hers. "Oh Ty," she whimpers.

I am silent for a couple of minutes, trying to be brave enough to tell Bay about what happened just after I turned four. It was kind of funny in a pathetic way that I could serve overseas without experiencing the anywhere same amount of terror that I feel now.

Bay squeezes my hand and smiles reassuringly.

"Do you remember when I told you that you had three more parents fighting over you than I ever had?" I question slowly, recalling the night of our first kiss.

Bay nods quickly, not saying anything verbally.

"Well my dad took off just after my second birthday," I say, waving off Bay's look of concern. "He doesn't matter," I tell her dismissively, ignoring the anger that I feel when I think about him.

I take a deep breath and continue. "My mom was devastated. Turns out that he left once he found out that she'd had a daughter with a different man four and a half years prior. I don't know why my mom left Aida in the first place, but she wanted custody of her because Aida's father was seriously ill at the time." I pause and take a calming gulp of air.

"So Aida had a two parent family growing up?" Bay voices curiously.

I nod and continue on. "My mom tried to hold it together for a couple of years after he left but she couldn't deal with it. Some bullshit about me looking too much like him, even though I looked more like her. A couple of days after my fourth birthday she gave me to my grandma and left to raise Aida. After my grandma died when I was eight, I moved in with my great-aunt and lived with her until she died when I was seventeen."

Bay holds my hand even tighter. "How do you know all of this?" She whispers.

"Learned some of it from my great-aunt and the rest from Aida," I answer lightly.

"One last question," Bay starts, looking at me for permission to ask. I nod slightly at her. "How come you haven't seen your mom?"

I scratch the back of neck nervously. "She doesn't want to see me. And I don't exactly know where she is either."

"No?" Bay questions.

I sigh. "She's in the hospital dying, but I don't know where she is."

Bay's eyes widen and then soften as she studies me. "I can help-"

I quickly shake my head. "It doesn't matter Bay."

She swallows noiselessly and fumbles around, looking for her wallet. I place a hand on her wrist to stop her. "It's ok. I've got it," I say, tossing thirty dollars on the table.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" I ask after several quiet moments.

Bay hesitantly laces her hand with mine and nods. "The park over there ok?"

I stand up and hold my arm out to Bay, who immediately clutches it. We then proceed to walk around the part a couple of times before stopping and sitting on a bench that is close to the small, duck filled pond.

Bay clears her throat several times, clearly wanting to say something to me. I don't press her and instead slowly run my thumb over her knuckles, watching the rays of the sun sparkle on the water.

"Did- did I ever tell you why Emmett and I broke up?" Bay voices quietly.

I shake my head, still running my thumb over her knuckles.

She clutches my hand tightly and take a deep breath. "He... he, uh, cheated on me- he slept with Toby's girlfriend at the time."

For a moment all I can see is red. I take several calming breaths and count to twenty in my head before I dare to even look at Bay. When I do look at her, I am surprised to see the look of acceptance on her face. I decide not to say anything and simply give her a gentle kiss. "Sorry," I whisper.

Bay leans close to me, her lips a hair's width away from mine. "It's fine now," she whispers lightly. "But if you do the same, I'll probably kill you."

I chuckle and reach to cup Bay's face in my hand. "Well I'm not interested in being murdered in this lifetime."

Bay giggles and ducks her head, her face reddening slightly. "Can- can we have a do over for yesterday? I... I, uh, told Regina that I'm spending the night with Mary Beth."

"Yes. I'd really like that," I breath, not daring to move away from her warm side.

Bay leans forward and firmly presses her lips to mine as my hands rest on the small of her back.

* * *

 

I struggled to open the door and keep Bay's eyes covered with one hand. Once I open the door, I guide Bay inside and quickly close it with a small snick.

"Ok, you can open your eyes," I tell Bay, my hands sliding from her head to her waist.

"Wow!" She exclaims, turning around to view the whole room. "You did this all for me?"

"Of course," I tell her as I pour out the sparkling apple juice and hand her a cup.

"A coffee cup? And are those t-shirts?" She questions, her voice amused.

"Oi! Limited budget here!" I reply sarcastically, pulling Bay onto my lap after I'd settled onto my computer chair.

"I can certainly tell that by the lack of rose petals and silk sheets," she scoffs.

"Well at least I didn't light incense or run a bubble bath," I reply, equally as sarcastic.

Bay presses her lips to mine in the midst of a giggle. "There is that, there is that. Although I'd love a romantic bubble bath one of these days."

"I'll keep that in mind," I promise to her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

I press play on my cd player and the melodic tunes of Keith Urban fill the room.

"I love this song!" Bay proclaims after several intimate minutes of us simply enjoying each others company. She stands up and begins clumsily swaying to the low-volume music.

"May I have this dance, milady?" I request, holding out a plastic rose that I'd pulled out of my desk drawer.

Bay takes the flower and pretends to sniff it. She then places the flower on the bed and places her hands on the back of my neck. "I'd be honoured good sir!"

My hands settle on her waist and I rest my forehead against hers, looking deeply into her eyes. I'd never noticed the depth that her eyes took in dimmed lighting. Far too many people disregarded the beauty that brown eyes possessed. As we sway to the song, my mind drifts to Bay's disclosure about what Emmett had done to her. I still can't understand how someone so honourable had done something so shitty. No wonder Bay was still a virgin. I shake my head to clear my thoughts. All that matters right now is Bay and making sure that she was relaxed and comfortable.

"I love the candles," Bay whispers. "But aren't they banned from the barracks?"

I laugh slightly. "They are but Riggs managed to sneak them past security. Just don't toss anything flammable on them and we should be ok."

Bay didn't reply, instead pressing her lips onto mine. I am slightly caught off guard by the gesture, but it doesn't faze me at all. My hands rise to cup her face and then slide into her hair, pulling us closer together. Meanwhile Bay's hands move to yank on the belt lopes of my jeans, pressing our lower bodies flush against each other. Her tongue then pokes out between her lips, and she gently nips on my own lips, causing me to moan slightly. Encouraged by my response, Bay hesitantly pushes her tongue between my lips and I eagerly respond to her. "Oh Ty," Bay moans breathlessly into the kiss.

I slowly back her to the wall, pressing her up against it firmly. My hands slide down from her hair to her bottom and I lift her up and she wraps her legs around my waist, helping me hold her up against the wall. The friction between our jeans is driving me half mad with desire, but I resist the urge to move things along quickly.

Bay pulls back slightly, her lips already swollen. "Ty can you put me down? My legs are killing me."

I nearly face-palm in shame. How had I not considered that, that would happen? I quickly set Bay on top of my desk and we resume kissing passionately.

This time I am the one that pulls back from the kiss. "Bay," I start, slightly out of breath. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

Bay smiles sweetly at me. "I want to keep going. I trust you Ty."

My heart soars at her words. I press my lips to the spot where her neck and shoulder meet, quickly leaving Bay moaning under my attention. I pull back from her to catch my breath, leaving Bay an open window to do what she wants with me.

Her lips and teeth quickly graze over the pounding pulse point just under my jaw, making me gasp in pleasure. I slip my boots off and blindly kick them behind me, and then pick Bay up with the intention of laying her down on the bed. Unfortunately I stumble over my boots and land on the bed, flat on my back with Bay splayed out on top of me.

"This is so not going accord to my plans," I admit, chucking nervously.

"Smooth move soldier," Bay laughs, her face hovering over mine.

I roll my eyes in response and pull Bay's head down to mine, our lips meeting in a frenzied kiss. I can hear the soft plop over her sneakers hitting the ground before she pulls away from me and slides to sit on the bed.

I lean over and press two soft kisses on her fabic covered knees. I then kneel on the bed, pulling Bay up to meet me and mirror my position.

"Hold on a second," she said as she grabbed her phone and turned it off, dropping it on the floor.

"Goodbye world," she mutters, her voice trembling slightly.

"Don't be afraid," I whisper in her ear.

"I'm not afraid," she replies, easing her hands under my shirt and pulling it off. Bay tosses it behind me, narrowly missing the candles.

"Oh shit!" She proclaims, her hands clasped over her mouth. I smile faintly and turn to blow out the candles in our immediate vicinity.

"Try not to start any fires inside alright?" I tell her, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose.

"No we couldn't have that. Smoke alarms going off in the whole hall, sprinklers set off and ruining everything. Then they'll see the smoke pouring out of your room and they'll come rushing in asking all sort of questions like 'what are you two up too?' and 'why in God's name are there candles in here Private Mendoza'. Then of course they'll ca-"

I press my lips against her firmly, stopping her anxious babbling. "Just relax alright," I tell her mildly.

I start pressing several quick kisses along her jaw line and collar bone as I make my way to the first button of her shirt. I ease it open and place an open mouthed kiss where the fabric had formerly covered skin. I copy the action for each button that I pop open, slowly exposing the creamy skin of her torso. Once I am finished opening her shirt, I slowly slip it off and toss it onto the ground. Before me Bay is wearing a lacy red bra, which contrasts beautifully with her pale skin.

I gently kiss my way back up her body, stopping to give her a short and passionate kiss in which our tongues battle for dominance. My fingers slowly trail their way down her back, stopping at the clasp of her bra. I look deep into her eyes, silently asking for permission to continue. Bay nods nervously at me, her cheeks heated.

I smile at her innocence, and gently ease the clasp of her bra open. I then slip the bra off, tossing it to the side. I pull back slightly, my eyes roaming over her exposed body. "So beautiful," I whisper, my hands gently kneading and massaging her flesh. Under my touch, Bay's eyes flutter shut and she whimpers into my mouth.

I slowly kiss my way down her chest, paying equal attention to each breast as I continue to trace my hands down to the button of her jeans. I pop it open and ease her pants halfway down her thighs. My lips return to hers, and I shudder when our the skin of our chests makes contact for the first time. My hands roam over her backside, and I slip my fingers beneath the elastic of her underwear, stroking the smooth skin of her bottom. Bay moans into my mouth and tugs at my belt, fumbling with the buckle. I slide off the bed and quickly remove my belt, kicking my jeans off in the process.

Bay glances down at my arousal and it is my turn to blush. She slowly moves her hand down my chest and stomach, halting at the waistband of my boxers. Her hands disappear and I am momentarily confused as to what she is doing. Does she want to stop? I lean back from her only to see that she is struggling to pull her jeans off. "Here, let me help," I tell her, gently pulling on her wrists.

I press her down onto the bed and remove her jeans, along with her socks. Now Bay is only left in a simple lacy red bottom. Her eyes meet mine and I amazed to see the desire that fills them. I hook my fingers in the elastic waistband of her last remaining piece of clothing. Before I can ask Bay if this is ok, I feel her hands on top of mine and we push her underwear off together, which I promptly toss to the side.

Bay is now completely exposed to me and she is more beautiful than I had ever imagined. My hands slowly trail down from her cheeks to her breasts and then her stomach, stopping when I reach the apex of her thighs. Bay guides my hands into the position she likes, making her moan loudly as I continue the movements that she had directed, and adding in other movements that I think that she'll like.

After several pleasurable minutes, Bay leans up and starts to ease my boxers down. I mirror her actions from before by covering her hands with mine and helping her pull my last remaining piece of clothing off. Once the boxers reach my ankles, I kick them off, sending them across the room. We are finally both naked together and my heart is pounding nervously in my chest.

Bay's hand slowly eases forward, shaking slightly. I clasp it in mine and place it on me, showing her the movements that I find pleasurable. It isn't long before I need to pull back, lest I spoil the night early.

Sitting on my heels, I reach for the condom that sits on the nightstand and open the package, tossing the foil onto the ground. "Are- are you sure about this?" I question, the condom still in my hand. "It... it's probably going to hurt."

"I'm very sure about this Ty," she tells me firmly.

I roll the condom on and hover over her, relishing in the heat that is radiating off her body. "You are so beautiful," I tell her before we meet in a passionate kiss, one of my hands cupping her face as the other slowly slides lower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried my best to keep this rated as teen as possible, and I think I managed to do so. This was my first time writing something so intimate, and I hope that I did a good job. It took a lot of tinkering to get it right without it being overly graphic considering that this isn't rated M or E.


	9. Chapter 9- The First Thing You See

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: Mild swearing and non-graphic descriptions of sexual situations.
> 
> Chapter Title Inspired By: Strange and Beautiful- Aqualung

The sun peaks through a gap in the curtains, washing over my face and gently waking me up. There is something warm and heavy laying on my arm, snoring softly. I stretch slightly and angle my face down to look at Bay's messy of dark curls that literally coat my chest. My heart swells with love and warmth when I remember how much Bay had trusted me last night; trusted me enough to share something as special as her first time with me.

Bay's presence also seemingly had a good effect on my sleeping. This was the first night in well over two years that I'd managed to wake up for reasons other than nightmares, trumpets, or alarm bells. I curl my arm around Bay's shoulder and ease her closer to me. She stirs but doesn't wake, mumbling incoherently about Angelo and dirty pans.

I gently stroke the naked skin of her arm as I recall last night. I'd physically hurt her and part of me still ached with guilt even if the pain was more than likely unavoidable. But at some point she finally seemed like she was enjoying herself which made my guilt easier to handle. Next time would be better- I'd make sure of it. My heart flutters at the thought of a next time. Six months ago I didn't even think that there would have been a first time for us, let alone multiple times.

Beside me Bay yawns and stretches, wrapping her arm around my waist. "Morning," she whispers with no traces of blush visible on her pale skin.

I swipe some of her hair off her face. "Morning. How are you feeling?" I question hesitantly.

"Sore," she admits, glancing up at me. "But a good kind of sore."

I feel my body both relax and quicken at her statement. "Want some breakfast?" I croak out, sliding out of the bed and blindly pulling on a pair of boxers.

Bay giggles behind me, slipping out of bed and giving me a tight hug from behind. "Sounds good," she whispers, pressing a kiss to the back of my neck.

I try to ignore the warmth that I feel from her bare chest and pull away from her embrace, shrugging on a shirt. I can see Bay's pout without even looking at her. "Not today," I chastise gently. "You're sore. It wouldn't be any good," I tell her as I pull on a pair of cargo pants.

Bay sits on the edge of my bed and wraps a sheet around her body. "But we can do other stuff," she whispers, trailing the tips of her finger up and down my chest.

I don't know what's harder: resisting her advances or not falling over in shock that she's prepositioning me for sex less than twelve hours after she'd blushed and fumbled and stuttered as we undressed and touched each other. Most likely it's a combination of both. "Want some co-ffee?" I groan at Bay as her hand slips down the front of my pants.

Her hand retracts slowly, making me shudder. "Two creams and one sugar please," she murmurs, sliding back under the thin grey quilt.

I grunt and readjust myself in my pants before I ease out of my room and down the hall.

* * *

 

Bay is wrapped up in my blankets with her back resting against the headboard and the Keith Urban cd playing in the background when I return.

"Coffee," I offer to her, smiling slightly in remembrance of our 'dance' last night.

Bay grins in response as she takes the proffered coffee, blowing on it to cool it down. I hand her a muffin and an orange, shaking my head at her quizzical expression. "The muffins are the best breakfast food here," I inform her after taking a large bite of my own pastry.

She rolls her eyes in response and gingerly takes a sip of coffee. "I won y'know," she brags to me, smirking slightly.

"You- huh?" I reply, incredibly confused.

"Won. W.O.N.," she spells out for me, peeling the rind off her orange.

"Won what?" I question, stretching out beside her.

"I managed to stay in our bed longer than you!" She triumphantly gloats, bumping her shoulder against mine.

'Our bed'. My heart races at those two little words. "Are you willing to make a bet on that again then?" I challenge her.

"You're on!" She declares, shoving her coffee mug onto the nightstand. Before I can even say anything, Bay begins prying my shirt buttons open and pressing kisses to my torso as she does so.

Her lips are hot against my cool skin and I involuntarily moan at her ministrations, weaving my fingers in her hair. This time there is no belt to fumble with, letting Bay quickly pop open the button of my pants with ease. She then yanks my pants down, swatting my arm when I don't immediately lift my hips to help her take them off. I comply at her sharp glare and my pants then are yanked off and tossed haphazardly in a corner.

I tug at the sheet that is wrapped around Bay's body and it falls open, revelling her beautiful naked form. My hands drift down her front and stop at her breasts, caressing and cupping them which makes Bay toss her head back and moan softly.

Bay feels my arousal and grins wickedly, grinding firmly on my lap which nearly ends our morning right then and there. I grit my teeth tightly and drop my hands between her thighs, copying the movements from last night that had made her come undone so quickly.

Bay reaches up and gives me a powerful open mouthed kiss, gasping into my mouth as she turns to jelly on top of me. She lays on me for a few minutes, before sitting up and trailing her lips down my body, stopping at the hem of my boxers. She slowly pulls them off, bunching them at the end of our bed. Bay then kisses her way up my body and stops at my midsection, hovering over me.

I nod encouragingly at her, and she slowly drops her head lower and lower, making me gasp with pleasure when her mouth makes contact with me.

I am thoroughly spent when Bay finishes pleasuring me and I struggle to calm my breathing down. Without even looking at her I can see Bay's satisfied smirk directed my way. I grin slightly at the thought of returning the favour, and I vow to do so once I catch my breath.

Once my hammering heart has slowed, I flip Bay onto her back and begin kissing my way down her body, pausing for several minutes at her breasts and belly button. I pass over the junction between her thighs, instead pressing kisses to the front of her thighs and knees, making my way up the inside of her thighs before pulling back.

"Is this ok?" I question, sincerely hoping that it indeed is.

Bay nods slightly, looking unsure of the situation.

"If you feel uncomfortable at all, just tell me to stop alright?"

She nods at me again and readjusts herself on the bed, looking down at me with heavy lidded eyes.

* * *

 

My truck has been parked in front of Angelo's condo for over 45 minutes, and neither Bay nor I have made a move to detach from the tight embrace that we are in.

"I need to leave, but I don't want too," Bay mumbles into my shoulder. "Regina will be here soon."

I don't say anything, instead burrowing my face into her clean hair. I have never been so close to anyone in my life- not Daphne, not Justin, not Aida, not my Great-Aunt.

Bay presses her lips to my ear and I sigh contentedly, tracing my fingers down her back. "Bay," I start, trying to properly phrase what the voice in my head has been begging me to tell her for weeks. "I... I, uh. Umm..."

"Hmm," Bay questions lazily, her head lolling on my shoulder.

I chuckle nervously, all prior confidence gone. "You're tired. Let me walk you up," I declare as I slide out of my truck, offering my hand to Bay.

Bay yawns widely and takes my hand, readjusting her button down shirt. "You tired me out," she murmurs seductively as we head up the stairs.

My face quickly heats up and I quickly glance around to see if Regina is in our immediate vicinity. If I was frightened of Mr. Kennish when he found Bay and I kissing in my truck a couple of years ago, Regina's reaction to Bay's (and my own) hickey covered neck and wearing of yesterday's clothes would make his reaction seem like a friendly hello.

We finally reach Angelo's fourth floor suite, still not quite able to part. I press several soft kisses to her lips, pulling away from her ever so slightly. "I should go. Regina would kill me if she saw and heard us," I murmur against her lips.

Bay huffs and presses a firm kiss to my lips, nipping on my lower lip. "I'm going to take a long, 'relaxing', bath then," she whispers, pulling away from me. "See you tomorrow on base," she adds as she slips into the condo, standing in the doorway.

"Bye," I mumble, reaching forward to give her a long kiss. "See you tomorrow, beautiful."

Bay smiles softly at me, pulling me down for one last kiss. "Bye," she whispers.

"Bay I-" I start, stepping towards her. But she doesn't hear me and closes the door, locking it with a loud click. "-love you," I finish, pressing my palm against the steel, trying to channel my words and feelings through it.

I slowly make my way into and out of the lobby, pausing at the buzzer code for suite 455- 'Angelo, Regina, and Bay; code: 4109.' The sight of that makes me smile wistfully, thinking of the years that I wished for something similar to happen in my life.

As I make my way to my parking spot, I see Regina walking towards me, confidence and happiness gracing her face.

"Hi Ty," Regina calls out as she pauses at my truck that's still sitting in front of the condo. "Dropping Bay off from work?"

I nod at her inquiry, praying that she doesn't notice my hickeys as I casually edge my jacket up. "Slow night for her," I add after a couple of silent moments.

"Oh, is that so?" She asks thoughtfully.

I nod sadly at her. "Some new waterslide park has opened up. Really driving business down."

"Well that's unfortunate," Regina replies, fishing her keys out of her purse. "Have a good night then Ty," she tells me, squeezing my shoulder.

I watch her step into the stairwell and I then slide into my truck, keeping the windows rolled up to preserve Bay's lingering scent that I've committed to memory.

* * *

 

Standing in front of the depilated building, I think about the last few days while I wait for the ticket office employee to notice that I've been standing in front of her for twenty minutes. The last week has been the best of my life by far, and just thinking about it makes me smile softly. I'd legitimately spent all of my free time with Bay, being closer with her than I'd been with anyone in my life. Together we'd 'christened' several parts of my room and left various articles of clothing on the doorknob to warn others of what was happening behind the wooden door.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I fish out a various array of coins and crumpled bills, sliding them over the cracked Formica countertop. "Two please," I ask the busily texting girl with the hot pink hair, stretched earlobes, and destroyed t-shirt.

"That'll be fifty-six dollars and twenty seven cents," she replies monotonously while snapping on her gum, clearly bored.

I shove the mess of money at her, suppressing my currently flared temper. As if I wouldn't know what the cost of these two tickets are considering it's scrawled on the chalkboard right in front of me.

The girl wordlessly hands me my tickets and immediately resumes using her cell phone. I shake my head, irritated at her poor attitude. It had been hard enough finding this stupid ticket office, let alone dealing with the shitty service. But Bay was worth the trouble of finding tickets to her current favourite band, even if they were completely obscure and talentless in my opinion.

Stuffing the tickets into the glove compartment, I drive to Maui to pick Bay up from her day working as a ride attendant.

Her bright smile as she climbs into the truck makes the stress of hunting for tickets and fixing up a very damaged Humvee go away completely, disappearing from my mind. I greet Bay with a drawn out kiss before pulling back and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well hello to you too," she states, pulling her seat belt on.

I snort at her remark and send her a smirk in response.

"How was your day?" I ask as I pull out of Maui and head towards base.

"Ugh," she groans. "Terrible. I got yelled at by nineteen different people for not letting their far too short children on the rollercoaster."

I grimace sympathetically. I'd only lasted a week being a ride attendant before I'd begged my manager to put me on grounds maintenance lest I either have a panic attack or erupt at a customer.

"But my day is so much better now that you're here," she whispers, seductively sliding her hand up my thigh, making me shiver with desire.

The next thirty minutes feel like much more as Bay's desire laden gaze distracts me at every bump and at every turn. It takes all of my focusing skills to not drive my truck into the ditch so that Bay and I can work out those said desires.

Soon enough we reach the bright parking lot of my base, and I tuck Bay under my arm as we check in at the front gate before quickly walking into my barracks. I tug off my vest and hang it on the doorknob before Bay shoves me inside, pressing several open mouthed kisses to the underside of my jaw.

She makes quick work of my belt and pants, while I tug my shirt off and toss it behind her. She kisses her way down my torso, pausing at the waist band of my boxers. She lightly traces her fingers over the sensitive skin there, making me whimper with yearning. Rolling her eyes, she tugs my boxers down and kisses her way down the rest of my waist.

After a couple of short moments I tug Bay back up my body, wordlessly asking her to put a condom on me. She immediately complies and then shoves me backwards onto the narrow bed, tugging my pants and shoes all the way off.

"You. Are. Wearing. Entirely. Too. Much. Clothing," I pant out as Bay perches herself on the foot of our bed, tossing her hair back.

Bay snorts and begins rapidly stripping off her clothes, throwing them haphazardly around the room.

* * *

 

The beams of the midmorning sun peaking through a gap in my curtains wakes me up from my slumber, but does not awaken Bay who is snoring softly against my neck. I certainly could get use to this sort of wakeup- nightmare free, soft, and comfortable. It scares me how much Bay's presence has affected me, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do without her when she goes back to school. It's hard enough to convince Regina that Bay sleeps over at Mary Beth's on work nights.

Beside me Bay yawns and stretches, curling her arm tightly around me. "Morning," she garbles, angling her head up.

My hand curls around her shoulder and I slowly stroke the warm, naked skin. "I should probably get out of bed," I admit slowly, looking down at her. "I've got to get to motor pool in an hour."

"And I've got to get to Maui in a couple of hours," Bay mutters lazily.

I continue stroking the skin of her upper arm. "What are you doing on Sunday?" I ask after several minutes of peace and quiet.

Bay silently ponders for a couple of minutes. "More of this," she replies, gesturing to our naked bodies, making me laugh lightly.

"Well I suppose I can just get rid of those Goosedown tickets I got for the concert on Sunday then," I tell her, trying to stretch out on my far too small bed.

Bay jerks her head up to look at me through her dark eyelashes. "I looovveee them," she exclaims, squeezing my side tightly.

I chuckle slightly. "Well then, I'm going to need to get out of this bed lest they revoke my weekend leave for being late."

"On the count of three then?" She suggests as she tucks her head under my chin.

I nod at her. "One..." I start.

"Two," Bay replies, half sitting up.

"Three!" We trill together, not moving.

"This is a going a lot harder that I'd imagined," Bay tells me, falling back against my chest.

"Well I suppose I can give those tickets to Squid. I hear that his girlfriend likes them too," I fib, smirking at Bay's outraged expression.

"Oh no!" Bay exclaims, jumping out of our bed. She slips her underwear on and turns to face me. "What are you still doing in bed!? Out! Vamoose! Andale! Rapido!" She asserts rapidly, wildly waving her arms in the air. When I don't move, she glares viciously at me and violently pulls me out of bed.

"Alright, alright, I'm up," I concede, pulling on a set of clean clothes and tossing Bay her car keys.

She presses a quick kiss to my lips and yanks the door open, tossing my vest inside. "Can I grab a coffee?" She questions as I lock the door. I nod silently, lacing my fingers with hers.

We run into Aida who greets Bay like an old friend, jabbering on about hanging together sometime soon. I glance down at my watch and notice that Bay only had forty minutes to get to Maui. I tug her away from Aida and we quickly walk to the front gate. "See you on Sunday then," I tell her as she slips out of the security area.

* * *

 

I knock on the door and readjust my Kelly Clarkson t-shirt. If I'm going to a concert with a crummy band, the least I can do is wear some threads that represent someone with actual talent.

Bay opens the door and leans on the frame. "You're early!" She exclaims, glancing back into the condo. "The concert isn't for another-" She pauses, glancing at her cell phone, "-eight hours!"

I look sheepishly at her, not wanting to admit that I want to spend more time with her (and with Angelo and Regina if they're in). "Well I was in the neighbourhood..." I trail off, cupping her face in my hands and sharing a long draw kiss with her that makes my lips tingle when I pull back to breathe.

"Oh... well then," she murmurs equally as breathless, with her breath fanning over my face in hot puffs. "Want to come in? Regina's working and Angelo... Angelo is 'baby hunting' in St. Louis."

I step back and look at her expression, noting the guarded look that graces her face. "Bay, is everything alright?" I ask gently.

She nods her head shakily, pulling me into the condo, pressing her lips to the underside of my jaw.

It is when I notice that she has pushed me into her room that I pull away, quizzically raising an eyebrow at her which makes her lower her gaze in response.

"Angelo found his baby girl," she admitted monotonously. "And he's in St. Louis meeting her today. He, uh, asked me to come today but..." She trails off, sitting heavily on the edge of her bed.

"The concert is tonight," I mumble, sitting down next to her.

She nods miserably and takes a deep breath. "It's fine. Angelo said he didn't mind that I wasn't coming to see her," she says simply, sliding her hand up my thigh.

I place my hand on top of hers and lace my fingers through hers, offering her silent support as well as stopping her from doing something while she was upset. I remember when my dad had reached out to me shortly after I'd first met Bay, asking me to come and meet him and his wife (who was expecting) along with their five kids ranging from 18 to 4 years of age. I'd adamantly refused, still bitter over how I'd grown up and what he'd stolen from me. But I regretted it now knowing that I'd never get a chance to know my baby sister who'd died of cancer a few weeks after I'd gotten back. And because my dad had died when I was in Afghanistan, I had no way to reach out to my half-siblings or step-mother.

"Ty..." Bay whispers, twisting her hand so that she could lace her fingers through mine.

I glance down at my watch. If we can leave right away, we should be able to drive to St. Louis and spend time with the baby for a couple of hours before leaving going to the concert. I suddenly stand, pulling Bay up with me. "Let's go," I tell Bay firmly, guiding her out of the condo.

"But what about the-"

"It's fine," I reassure her, stopping her in her tracks. "This is important. Not only to Angelo and the baby, but to you as well."

Bay takes a shaky breath and slides into my truck, fiddling with the radio but only coming up with static.

I gently pull her hand away and press a kiss to her temple. "Relax. Everything will be alright," I tell her softly.

* * *

 

Bay's feet are plopped in my lap as she leans against the window, riffling through my cd collection. The warm summer breeze flows through my truck, blowing strands of hair into her eyes that she keeps impatiently brushing aside.

"Aida was right- you do have the weirdest music collection ever," Bay teases casually, pulling her hair into tight braid.

"Oh ya," I bite back, smiling softly at her. "What exactly makes her right?"

"Well," she starts, shuffling through my newest mix tapes. "You've got your typical pop music in Kelly Clarkson, angry boy metal music, some oldies like David Bowie and Neil Diamond, and the oh-so-terrible country music starring Lady Antebellum and Garth Brooks."

"And?" I ask, slightly amused by Bay's questioning.

"Well it's just... a realllyyy weird collection is all," she responds, sitting straight up in her seat.

I roll my eyes. "Perhaps my taste is just more refined than yours is."

This time it is Bay's turn to roll her eyes. "At least I'm not a slave to the music industry," she quips, the typical Bay Kennish attitude filling every word.

We sit in comfortable silence for the next forty minutes, occasionally sharing warm glances with each other. Bay begins to study me intently, making me uncomfortable.

"Hmm," I murmur, slipping my hand of hers to turn the cd player on.

"Why are you doing all of this?" Bay asks, gesturing around her.

'Because I love you', I immediately thought, heat flooding my body. I opened my mouth to say this out loud, but the words got stuck in my throat.

"Because I don't want you to regret not going... like I do with not meeting my other half-siblings." I choked out, upset that I still haven't told her about how I really feel.

"There's more half-siblings?" Bay asks incredulously.

"Use to be six other ones beside Aida," I tell her, griping the steering wheel tightly and desperately hoping that she didn't notice the 'use to be' part.

"Use to be?" Bay questions gently. "What exactly happened?"

Of course she noticed. This is Bay after all- my smart, talented, and beautiful Bay. I stare down the nearly empty highway, trying to focus on the road ahead of me and not my steadily creeping guilt.

"My baby sister died of cancer," I whisper. "And I refused to meet her and the rest of them a while back."

I spare a side glance at Bay, only to be shocked by her watering eyes. She slides towards me, curling around my side. "Are you saying your dad made contact with you at some point?" She questions, her voice thick with emotion.

I nod stiffly. "A couple of days after we first met..." I trail off, not really wanting to think about the phone call. "All I know about them is that until my dad died they lived in Tulsa and they moved when she got sick." I grip the steering wheel even more tightly as I think of them and what had happened. After my sister got sick, they'd moved to New York where she died- I saw her obituary in the paper right after I got back from Afghanistan, and knew it was her (after all, how many people have the name Sydney Katrina Markov-Mendoza?).

Bay strokes my elbow gently, clearing shaking me from my thoughts. "Thank you," she whispers. "If- if something happened to her and we never met, I'd be... ya."

I chuckle softly and tug Bay closer to me, holding her firmly against my side as sunny downtown St. Louis slowly comes into view, stunning us both into silence.

* * *

 

Bay and I stand in the lobby of the hotel where Angelo is supposed to meet us, a pair of small duffle bags at our feet. I'm more nervous about this than I should be- after all, Bay's told me that Angelo is much more easy going than John.

She glances up reassuringly at me and I scold myself for being so selfish. If anyone should be nervous, it should be Bay.

I bend to give her a gentle kiss but we are interrupted by a person lightly clearing their throat. "Hello Bay," he cheerily says, pulling her into his arms.

After Angelo steps out of the hug, quickly roams his eyes up and down me. "And you must be Ty," he proclaims, holding out his hand. "I've heard a lot about you."

I let go of the breath that I was subconsciously. Angelo wasn't the least bit hostile towards me unlike John. I shake his hand quickly, slightly surprised at the strong grip he has. "Bay's talked a lot about you as well," I casually mention, making him smile widely.

"Well I have booked two rooms-"

"What?" Bay exclaims, looking back and forth at me and Angelo.

"I already met her today to explain to her caregivers about you two. I didn't want to have three strangers showing up and making them clam up," Angelo explains, leading us to the front desk.

Angelo hands me a key and we head up to our rooms on the third flood. Just as I had opened the door to my room that had a single king bed and stepped inside the lavish room, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

I turn to look at Angelo's serious expression and Bay's glum one. "Bay will of course be sharing a room with me and will not be going into your room at all."

I solemnly nod my head, expecting that to happen. I share a look with Bay, and her eyes tell me that she will be sneaking in tonight so that we can be together.

Angelo seemingly notices our exchange and tucks Bay protectively under his shoulder. "I am a little sleeper. Very light," he threatens. "I can hear everything- doors opening and closing, people walking in the hall at the same time, things through the wall. Everything wakes me up. And I don't like being woken up."

I internally sigh. I guess we can't do anything tonight after all. I wave farewell to both of them and slip into my room to watch some TV.

A little more than three hours later just as Titanic had ended, my phone buzzes in my lap.

**Meet me at truck. You leave in 10 minutes and take stairs to the right. -B**

I smile widely. Bay certainly is a clever one.

After my ten minute wait is up, I gently ease the door open and slip out, heading away from Angelo and Bay's room.

The sight of Bay standing proudly at the truck makes my insides feel very warm, and my eyes roam up and down the bare skin of her legs. I smirk slightly when I realize that she took her tights off, making things easier in the truck for both of us.

"I told Angelo that I was going to pick us up some pizza," she explains as we slip into the truck. "Just drive somewhere secluded and we can get it after."

After a five minute drive, I park the truck at the end of a one way street that has old abandoned warehouses on two sides and thick greenery at the end. I pull Bay onto my lap and lay back on the bench seat, helping her pull her dress up and off.

* * *

 

Still slightly breathless, I head into the pizza store and quickly pick up a generic Hawaiian- Bay's favourite. I slip back into the truck and set the box between us and give Bay a few more minutes to straighten up before making the short drive back to the hotel. I drop Bay off at the lobby and loop around the block twice before parking my truck in the hotel garage and heading up the back stairs.

I've been in my room for a little more than five minutes before I hear a knock on the door. I open it to see that Angelo is smiling at me warmly, clearly unaware of what Bay and I had just finished doing. "What to come over for dinner?" He asks kindly, his eyes sparkling with warmth just like Bay's do.

I nod quickly and follow him into the room, spotting Bay splayed out on one of the beds. I almost join her, but a subtle glance at Angelo tells me that he'd prefer that I sit at the table. When I ease myself into the chair, I notice that his expression softened slightly. Thankfully at least one of Bay's dads like me.

I am handed a diet coke and three slices of pizza from Angelo while Bay selects 'The Great Gatsby' from the movie selection on the TV, and we settle in to enjoy a brief family-like moment (something that I hope will continue long into the future).

By the time the movie ends, I am exhausted. I stand and press a kiss to Bay's cheek and shake Angelo's hand before heading back to the room and collapsing on the bed, barely managing to slip out of my jeans and shirt before falling asleep.

I am awoken by a nightmare at 5:30 and I groan in discomfort. I'd gotten use to the pleasant mornings with Bay that I'd had for the past week. I pull on my sweats and head to the hotel gym, hoping to get a jog in before we leave to visit the baby.

I am halfway though my run when Angelo walks in, heading for the bike. We nod politely at each other and continue our workouts in silence.

Angelo's company is actually welcome with his calm aura and friendly manner that settle my ever lingering nerves. Several times he glances over at me with either a smile or a nod, and when Bay had walked in the swimming pool area, he'd pointed her out to me before she'd even jumped in.

My watch beeps and I step off the treadmill, gesturing towards Angelo. "All yours," I tell him.

"See you a little later Ty. We are visiting Abby at 11:30," he informs me softly.

I step into the pool area and wave at Bay who is casually swimming in the small pool. I then head into the sauna, my muscles immediately relaxing from the heat and smell of pine. A short while later Bay joins me and we link hands, sharing a brief kiss.

"Angelo's not that bad," I tell her simply.

"Told ya," Bay rebuttals, slipping her hand up my damp back.

"Ready for later today?" I question gently.

Bay stiffens slightly and nods. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Angelo opens the door and motions for us to leave, mumbling something about driving over there in less than an hour.

I take a quick shower and get dressed, pausing outside Bay and Angelo's room. Just as I had raised my hand to knock, they fling the door open, both of them looking disgruntled. I wisely choose not to say anything as the three of us pile into Angelo's shiny BMW, quickly headed to the riverfront area, where we stop in front of an expansive condominium.

"Alright, time to go in and meet your beautiful baby sister, Bay," Angelo chirps out happily. I make to stay in the car but Angelo motions for me to get out and join them. "You might as well meet her too. After all, I might need to enlist you for babysitting duties," he tells me, his smile hopeful.

I stiffen slightly at his words. Is her really trying to take her back? Shaking my head, I try and ignore my discomfort as I reach out to tight clutch Bay's sweaty hand as we both follow Angelo into the condo lobby.

I am slightly surprised that when I the door opens, I am greeted by a pair of men who are clearly involved with each other in a romantic manner. They were certainly lucky to get a child to adopt considering the stigma that they'd face in such an endeavour. A couple of my buddies mentioned how difficult it was for them to adopt a child because of the fact that they were gay, and the sight of a couple getting a proper chance to be parents despite the stigma makes me very happy.

"Hello!" The short one cheerily greets. "You must be Bay and..." He trails off, looking at me awkwardly.

"Ty- Tyler," I tell him, reaching out to shake his hand.

After awkward twenty minute of forced conversation over carrot sticks and a nacho platter, Bay and I are led into a bright pink and green room. Abby's nicer dad, Leon, beckons us towards the white crib were the little girl is cooing.

When Leon picks up Abby, I am startled by her eyes- bright and shining, just like Angelo's eyes and nearly identical to Bay's. Angelo certainly knows how to pass good traits down in his daughters. As if he could hear my thoughts, Leon comments on the similarities between Abby and Bay's eyes, making the both of us smile softly.

"Here you go," Leon whispers gently as he places Abby in Bay's arms.

The image of Bay holding her baby sister like that makes me think of our future together. In 10 or so years, will I be looking at an older Bay holding our baby girl who has her eyes? I really hope that it does happen. I can't think of a better way to live- Bay doing something with her art, me finding stable employment, and a few happy children to complete the family that I never got to have but always desired.

At startled cry shakes me from my daydreaming of an image of Bay and I holding the hands of a little girl with dark pigtails. I look up to see Bay trying to comfort the crying baby in vain, her expression panicky.

"Sorry!" Bay cries out, handing Abby back.

"It's all right," Leon comforts kindly. "Abby just doesn't like being in strangers arms. She's just most comfortable with me or Joshua. That's all."

I reach out to lace my hand with hers when we hear shouts coming from the living room. Bay cringes and Leon just sighs as we walk out to see Angelo and Joshua at odds, the platter of nachos upturned on the coffee table between them.

"You are not taking our daughter away!" Joshua yells, his voice powerful and thick with emotion.

"She's not even your daughter! She is mine," Angelo shouts back, his mannerisms making an angry John Kennish seem tame.

Bay's mouth drops open in shock, with my expression mirroring hers. How could he say such a thing? How could that thought even enter his mind considering what's happened in the last two years?

Bay shoots Angelo a withering glance and mouths an apology towards Leon, her face now regretful.

"Let's go," I whisper, gently guiding her out of the door.

* * *

 

I clutch my cd player and a picnic basket as I struggle to climb Brandon Hill, slipping on the damp grass. I unfurl the blanket that I borrowed from Aida just below the crest of the hill and begin setting up the bowls of fresh fruit and whipped cream, along with a thermos of coffee and a bag of candies. Hopefully this, along with the latest Goosedown c.d. that I bought will cheer Bay up as she seemed so down today when I went to pick Mary Beth up at Maui for therapy.

I sit down and lean back on my elbows while I wait for Bay to show up. I hear a thump halfway down the hill and I immediately know that it is Bay. If I struggled to climb the damp grass, then it's no shock that Bay probably fell flat on her ass.

I can feel the daggers long before Bay plops heavily next to me. "What was that for?" She gasps out.

"The view," I say gesturing in front of me whilst looking right at her.

Her expression softens considerably. "It certainly is nice," she murmurs, glancing at the fruit and cream that's between us.

I pick it up and scotch closer to Bay, reaching behind me to turn the music on. We feast in silence, simply enjoying the other's company.

"Should we head over to base?" Bay asks as she traces her fingers up and down the inside of my upper thigh.

I shake my head. "Later," I tell her, laying back and pulling her against my side. "For now I just want to enjoy the night."

Bay presses a kiss to the pulse point of my jaw. "Thank you- again," she murmurs, curling more tightly around my side, glancing up at the starry sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the time of writing, I couldn't remember the name of Abby's dads or find a source confirming what they were, so I simply selected two names that seemed to fit them.


	10. Chapter 10- The Air Is So Thick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I had planned for a much lengthier story, but I was incapacitated by severe anxiety and depression and I was unable to write the story as I had intended to at the time. As such, many months after chapter 9 was published, I posted this chapter and formatted it in such a way to complete the story.
> 
> Things happened the same as in the show (aka fake cheating), but Ty's 'cheating' was with another army girl on base and not Aida, who, as you know, is his half-sister in this fic.
> 
> In this chapter, several varying time sequences will occur. The amount of time passed will be marked at the start of each section. 
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Mild violence and swearing, character death(s) including the death of an infant, alcohol abuse, and non-graphic sexual content.
> 
> Chapter Title Inspired by: Hometown Glory- Adele (Extended Version)

_About 6 Months Later (End of February)_

* * *

My severely sunburnt skin sizzles in agony as I slowly march forward towards an abandoned Humvee that's several hundred feet away from me. I am not looking forward to my scheduled auto detail shift today. Squid- who'd inspected and cleared the vehicle a couple of hours ago- told me how badly damaged this one was. He figured that it would require at least a solid four hours of work just to make it stable enough to drive it back to base.

I flex my shoulders to release some of the tension in my back, wincing as I irritate my sunburn even further. I hitch the collar of my dirty shirt up higher to try and cover my neck in an attempt to block the suns strong rays. My shirt does little to help shade my neck and I am regretting leaving my sunscreen and baseball cap in the Humvee that's two hundred feet behind me. I can't walk back to it now- not only would I be breaking company policy, but I would be placing myself and my fellow platoon members at risk.

Just as I had started to think wistfully of the cool lake back home, a slight whizzing sound catches my attention. Immediately on alert, I scan the surrounding terrain. As far as I can tell, there is no one out here except for me, Aida and a few other soldiers. I also appear to be the only one that's noticed the sound. Shaking my head, I continue pressing forward.

I am only ten feet away from the abandoned Humvee when I hear that whizzing sound again. I steady my gun and get into defensive position, scanning the horizon. Before I can signal the others about my suspicions of unfriendly company, I am greeted with an enormous boom that propels me back several feet where I land with a heavy thud onto the compacted earth. For a brief moment I lay on my back, completely stunned as I try to slow my hammering heart and catch my breath. Before I can even manage to do that, my world erupts into excruciatingly painful flames and everything around me turns black.

* * *

 

_"_ _Stay steady Private Mendosa," a faraway voice calls out._

_"Ty, it'll be ok! I've got you."_

_"Please don't die- I... I need you. You're my brother."_

_"Male, age twenty-two. Brought in from area eighteen, section three, subsection B with severe burns to the chest and legs, fractured ribs and vertebrae, and suspected head trauma. Will be airlifting him to Kabul and evacuating him to Heidelberg. Over."_

_"Heart rate is 149, blood pressure is 98 over 46."_

_"Commencing airlift evacuation in t-minus 2 minutes."_

_"...will be contacting Mary-Beth Tiberio who is Private Mendosa's medical contact. Regina Vasquez is his secondary contact should Ms. Tiberio be unreachable."_

_"Two injured and one killed in firebomb attack in Afghanistan. Stay tuned for more details as they become available."_

Eventually the voices all blend together and I am unable to hear or follow any of what is happening around me. I feel a sharp pinch and any pain I was feeling melts away as I am once again greeted by blackness.

* * *

 

_Bay sits before me as she slowly crafts a crown made out of dandelions. Smiling broadly, she stands and carefully drops it onto the head of a redheaded girl wearing bright green hearing aids. The girl kisses her cheek and runs off into the sunset only to be replaced by Emmett who appears from out of nowhere. He and Bay embrace, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. My heart twinges painfully at the sight of the tender act. I want to turn away but I find that my neck can't move. I feel myself panicking as I try everything and anything just to turn my head away. I open my mouth to scream but find myself unable to even do that simple action. My heart rate accelerates alongside my breathing as I try to reassure myself that everything will be ok and that I can move and that I can talk; I am certain that I am not paralyzed. There are no other options. I can't live in a world where I'll be dependent on others to survive._

Everything around me steadily turns brighter, making my head pound. I whimper slightly and a cool hand starts to gently stroke my forehead. I lean into the touch, signing in content.

"Ty?" The voice probs. "Are you awake?"

I manage a subtle nod. The lights are too bright and painful for me to even think of trying to open my eyes. Before I attempt to ask my caregiver to dim the lights, they've already stood up and turned them off.

I turn my head towards the person seated at my bedside and I slowly ease my eyes open. Regina is looking at me with a soft smile, but I know she's not happy- her expression is grim and there are dark circles under her eyes. What in the hell has happened?

"Hey there," she gently coos. "Nice to see you awake."

"Wha-" My voice cracks from disuse before I can even formulate a question.

"I got you some water," Regina informs me softly. She inclines my bed and my ribs scream in protest. I manage to hid a grimace as I gratefully accept the small cup of ice water.

After several heavy moments, I finally work up the courage to question why I'm here.

"Regina, what exactly happened?"

She begins chewing her lip in thought.

"You were attacked and severely injured. They brought you here to Germany for long-term treatment," she answers simply.

"But how?" I ask, still very confused.

Regina sighs deeply and glances up and down my bed, her eyes welling with tears.

"Just give me a moment," she croaks, dashing out of the room.

I take this small moment of privacy to evaluate my injuries. The skin on my arms is shiny, pink and tender, and my chest is wrapped in thick white bandages. My face and head feel fine, but my back aches miserably. I slowly inspect the rest of my body, pausing at my legs. The blankets look unusual but I can't quite place why that is. I ease my blanket up and off, and what I see makes me scream in horror. My left leg -from the knee down- is missing.

* * *

 

I blearily open my eyes only to come face to face with a white haired man tightly clutching a clipboard.

"Private Mendosa, how are you?" He questions, flipping through my papers.

I shrug my shoulders. I think it's fairly obvious how I feel.

The doctor is looking at me expectantly and heaves a deep sigh when I don't say anything.

"We had to sedate you yesterday," he starts awkwardly.

I nod slightly. I still remember the prick of the needle that was hastily jabbed into my left thigh. The very thigh that no longer attaches to a lower leg. The doctor looks at me sadly and scribbles something down onto a notepad.

"I'll be prescribing you a few medications for the next month. Your status will be revaluated at that point."

I don't bother replying. It's not like he asked me anything with that statement. Besides, just because they're giving me the pills doesn't mean that I'll be taking them.

The doctor remains standing awkwardly at the foot of my bed for a minute. He sighs several times as he looks at me and down at my papers.

"Your surgeon will be in to speak with you and Ms. Vasquez at 1pm. After that you'll be headed meet with your physical therapist and will discuss your treatments."

I chew on my lip. I really don't want to do this but do I have any choice in the matter?

"When's the surgery?" I question slowly.

The doctor heaves another sigh.

"In three days time- you'll be meeting with the anesthesiologist tomorrow."

"And the therapy?"

"It will start ten to twelve days after your surgery, of course depending upon how you fare."

I nod slowly. I have nothing else to say to the doctor and make it clear by lowering my bed and yanking my blankets up to my chin, intent on feigning sleep.

* * *

 

The next several weeks pass in a blur- therapy, surgery, sleeping, and mindless television watching. Regina left for home a several days ago and I miss her silent presence. She never probed about what happened to me that fateful day several weeks ago and for that I am thankful. The nurses here don't seem to think the same. It's a good thing that their English is heavily accented and I can pretend that I don't understand them when they ask how I'm feeling or if I'm having nightmares.

I remove my gaze from the television when I hear a soft knock on the door frame.

"Hi Ty," Bay gently calls out, edging herself into my room.

I'm not sure if what I'm seeing is real. Why is she here? If she'd done to me what I did to her, I most certainly wouldn't have come all this way to see her.

Bay gingerly perches herself on the edge of the lone chair in the room and roams her gaze up and down my body several times. A range of emotions flicker across her eyes but the most notable ones are pity and something akin to disgust. Suddenly I want nothing more than for her to leave so I can stare at the ceiling in peace.

"Why are you here?" I ask, my question not coming across as forceful as I had hoped it would.

"I... needed to see you," she whispers, reaching out to hold my hand. I quickly pull it under the covers. I'm so tired of being touched that even the idea of her wanting to comfort me is revolting. I pretend not notice that she's near tears. What good would mentioning it do anyway?

Bay sighs several times as I stare at the television, only vaguely aware of what is occurring on-screen. I'm about to ask her to leave when the nursing attendant enters the room, proclaiming that it is time for physiotherapy. The relief I feel is paramount and I eagerly sit up and slide into my wheelchair. I usually hate therapy but I'd give anything to get away from this room and all of the awkwardness. I know I need to tell Bay about what really happened at the end of summer but find myself unable to form the words to do so.

Bay mumbles that she'll be back next weekend and I try not to glare at her as she slowly exits the room. A week isn't enough time for me to figure out how to say the things that she needs to know.

* * *

 

I spend the next few days trying to figure out about how to tell Bay the truth; that I hadn't cheated on her but that I'd purposefully made it seem that I had. I know she'll hate me when I tell her. How could she not? After all, she had confided in me about Emmett's actions and I'd cruelly used the opportunity to have her break up with me.

I glance up at the clock and flinch slightly when I realize that Bay will be here soon. I still don't know what to say to her.

A knock on the door startles me from my thoughts. Inclining my bed, I call out and tell the person to come in, my heart pounding when I realize that my visitor is actually Bay.

Clutching a cup of coffee, Bay shyly perches herself on the edge of the leather chair at my bedside.

"Hi Ty," she says simply. Her expression is void of emotion and I find that odd. Bay isn't one to hide her feelings.

"Bay," I respond simply, clicking the television off. "How are you?"

She quickly shakes her head, instead asking me, "How are you doing?"

I shrug my shoulders. I think I'm still sort of numb when it comes to the attack and my resulting injuries.

Bay sighs at my lack of response. I want to talk to her, I really do, but things are just so awkward between us.

Bay takes several deep breathes before shifting her chair to face me directly. "I know what you did at the end of summer," she whispers softly.

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. I didn't expect her to know. Now I understand her desire to visit me even less than before.

"Mary Beth told me after the... incident," Bay continues, her voice rising slightly.

I swallow back a wave of anger that had risen to the surface after Bay revealed that Mary Beth had broken my trust. I know that feeling angry with her is irrational considering I could have died, but I can't help but feel that way anyway.

"Why?" Bay manages to keep her voice steady but I can still detect the furious undertone of her question.

"Why what?" I stupidly ask.

"Why'd you cheat on me? Why? Was it because I didn't say I love you back?" Her voice cracks on the last question and I can't help but flinch. I might have been hurt that she hadn't said it back but I would never hold that against her. The same thing had happened to me with my first serious girlfriend.

I take a deep breath as I sort through my feelings. "I did what I did because... because you were making things too difficult for me to handle." I immediately know that my words were the wrong ones when Bay visibly tenses. Why was it so easy to talk to Mary Beth about this and so difficult with Bay?

"So you're blaming me?" Bay yells, slamming her coffee down. "How exactly is your 'cheating' my fault?"

"I'm not saying that it is," I protest weakly.

"I think that you meant exactly what you said- that it was all my fault," Bay viciously spits.

I twist my fingers in my lap and try to recall the explanation that I gave to Mary Beth.

"No it wasn't Bay," I gingerly start. "I meant... I meant that I was just so unsure of the future- not like you were. They posted me to an extremely dangerous assignment and I thought I was going to die. I didn't want you dealing with that."

Bay's expression softens ever so slightly. "But why do that? I could've helped you or something."

I sigh deeply. "If I died, I was so sure that you'd react like Mary Beth did after Justin died. I knew you'd want to help but I didn't want you to. I tried to do it the right way -the normal way- but I just couldn't. So I did what I did so that you'd break things off and end up permanently angry with me."

I take a deep breath and calm my racing heart. I haven't talked so much since the last good conversation I had with Bay months ago. Stealing myself, I glance up at Bay and expect her to be near tears. Only she isn't. She's angrier than I've ever seen her.

"So you made my choices for me then. You had so little faith in us and in me, that you decided to break up with me, through me! I could've handled it! I'm not the little girl you seem to think I am. Instead of being a man, you tore my heart apart like it was nothing just so you could make things easier for yourself!" Bay pauses, choking on a breath.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I know it doesn't make things better but I really am sorry."

"Why didn't you ever email me? You emailed Mary Beth"

The abrupt change in topic leaves me reeling. Suddenly I am angrier that I have been in a long time. "I was fighting in a damn war Bay! How many emails did you expect me to send around? Besides, we weren't together and I didn't plan on trying to get back with you either! Why should I have even bothered? That is just so you- Princess Bay expects everyone to drop everything for her."

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I want to take them back. I am angry that she expected me to email her and I have thought some of those things before but she didn't need to hear them. I open my mouth to apologize but I never get the chance.

Swiping at the tears that have started to drip down her face, Bay knocks her coffee to the floor and storms across the room. "Have a fucking fantastic life Ty," Bay snarls when she pauses in the doorway. Shooting me one last vicious glare, she sprints out of the room and slams the door shut so loudly that it makes the room vibrate.

I sigh several times, swallowing back an irrational wave of angry tears. I'd never expected things to end so badly between us.

 

* * *

_About 1 1/2 Years Later (Middle of September)_

* * *

I fiddle with the pen in my hand as I wait for my commander to show up, elated that today is my last day in the army, as well as my final sessions for both physical and psychological therapy. While I've meet some pretty cool people in therapy, one in particular, I can't wait to have my private thoughts remain exclusively private.

I quickly sign the forms and hand them to my commanding officer, making sure to get conformation that my release papers will be mailed to my apartment in Hartford. I firmly shake his hand and exist the army barracks for the last time in my life.

Several hours of flying and train rides later, I am finally home. Fingering the small key in my pocket, I pause in the apartment lobby and try to soak up the moment. For the first time in my life I finally have a place that is truly my own- personally selected, funded, and furnished by me and Eva, my girlfriend of the last eight months.

I can't help the smile that graces my face when I think of Eva and how we'd met in therapy, the last place I expected meet someone that I would end up falling for. I'd never expected to love someone after what happened with Bay but Eva just sort of snuck up on me.

Sliding the key into the lock, I am immediately covered in a thick wave of soft blonde hair.

"Welcome home Ty!" Eva exclaims, pressing a short but passionate kiss to my lips.

I can't but let out a jubilant laugh. For the first time in a very long time, I can say that I am happy. Eva's played a large part in that, but for once most of my happiness comes from within me.

I gently pull her out of the apartment and then sweep her into my arms, slowly carrying her into our home. I kick the door shut and Eva giggles brightly, twisting her body in my arms to give me another kiss. I return it with fervour, tangling my fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck.

Pulling away from my lips, Eva begins to press feverish kisses down my neck. "Want to Christian the bedroom?" She whispers seductively in my ear.

I shiver at her words and quickly carry her to our small, sparsely furnished bedroom. "I was hoping you'd ask that," I tell her, my voice impossibly thick with desire.

 

* * *

_About 6 months later (Middle of March)_

* * *

I nervously finger the small velvet box in my pocket. Today is Eva's birthday and I hope to make it extra special by proposing to her in the small diner that we go to every Thursday night. I'd told Aida my intentions and she gave me the best gift I could ever ask for- my grandmother's ring to propose with. I have no idea how she got a hold of it but I will forever remain grateful. While working as a mechanic is what I've wanted to do since I was a small child, it doesn't pay the best and I'd been trying to save up enough money for a small diamond ring. Now that the worries about the ring are behind me, I can put the money towards something else. Perhaps into a college fund for our future children or towards a larger apartment.

Smiling nervously, I meet Eva downstairs and hand her the roses that I bought earlier. I'm so anxious about this that I'm sweating through my suit jacket. I really hope she doesn't notice. Eva knows me so well and it's hard to hide anything from her.

We reach the diner and I nod slightly at the manager who smiles in return. He knows about my plans for the evening and made sure to save 'our' corner table that overlooks the river. I pull out Eva's chair and place a soft kiss on the back of her neck. She smiles softly at my affections and laces her fingers with mine once I've sat down.

We both order our usual orders -green apple salads, fried chicken for her and roast beef for me, and a thick slice of chocolate cake. I discretely slip the ring (wrapped in plastic) to our server, knowing that she'll gently place it into the cake where the frosting -Eva's favourite part- is the thickest.

When the cake is brought out, my heart kicks into overdrive. Eva digs in, shooting me an odd look when I don't join in like I normally do. Her expression quickly shifts to one of shock when her fork scoops out the small square of plastic. She unwraps it slowly and gingerly picks up the ring.

"Is this what I think it is?" She questions softly.

I nod and ease myself down on one knee as best I can considering my prosthetic limb. "Eva Streen, will you marry me?"

In the second that it takes her to answer, I think my heart has stopped beating.

"Yes!" She answer jubilantly. "I would love to marry you Ty!"

I slip the ring on her finger and our lips join in a passionate kiss.

 

* * *

_About 9 Months Later (Middle of December)_

* * *

Eva looks so beautiful in her dark grey dress and red trench coat with her long blonde hair in a simple braid. Smiling softly, I gently stroke her wedding band and look down at the world that's passing us by. Instead of a traditional wedding we'd opted for a simple ceremony followed by a dinner with her family, Aida, and as many of our friends as possible. Now we were headed off on our honeymoon- a beachfront resort in the Dominican Republic.

I'd had a such a nice time at the dinner and it was great being able to see Daphne and Regina in person again. I'd extended an invitation to Bay but it was returned unopened. I pushed down the hurt that came from her rejection. I deserved it anyway considering how poorly I'd been treating her, before prior to the lie and long after it.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I press a kiss to Eva's temple. I shouldn't be thinking about my ex-girlfriend when the beautiful Ms. Mendosa is sitting right next to me.

 

* * *

_4 Months Later (Middle of April)_

* * *

"I'm pregnant," Eva whispers to me when I find her on the floor of our tiny washroom.

I feel my mouth drop open. While we'd both wanted kids, we had decided to wait a few years so we could enjoy each other's company without the added stress of children. Obviously something had gone wrong.

"I thought you were on birth control," I finally manage to sputter after several heavy moments where I could do nothing but look at the pregnancy test on the counter.

"So you're blaming me then!?" Eva suddenly yells, tears dripping down her face.

Her words remind me of the last conversation that I'd had with Bay. I can't react like I did back then- not to the best person in my life and the mother of my first child.

"No," I tell her gently as I help her off the floor. "Just trying to figure out what happened." I pause slightly, thinking about our last few months. "It was probably those antibiotics you took back in February," I finally tell her once I am able to recall the horrible illness she'd contracted 8 weeks ago.

Eva nods, obviously already having thought of this, and offers me a watery smile which I shyly return. I'm finally going to have the family I always dreamed of having and I can't wait to meet my son or daughter in seven months time.

 

* * *

_7 Months Later (Early November)_

* * *

I am handed a small pink bundle which I immediately cradle to my chest. I can't believe that humans can be so tiny and delicate. I gently run my fingers over the fine brown hair that covers the top of her head. It's softer than anything I'd ever felt in my life.

It had taken over 13 hours of labour but my daughter finally entered the world, right on time for the first real snowfall of the year.

Eva smiles tiredly up at me, curling her fingers around my wrist. "I still can't believe that we made someone that's so beautiful," she whispers. I nod in agreement, not looking forward to the years where I'll be chasing Yuri's suitors out of the apartment with a baseball bat.

"I love you, Yuri Madeline Mendosa," I tell my daughter softly once Eva has fallen asleep. "I promise to be the best dad that I can be and that no matter what, I'll never leave you."

I deliberately selected the middle name Madeline so that Yuri would share something with Bay, who I now deeply respect and admire. I hope that somewhere, somehow, Bay knows I gave my daughter the same middle name as her and understands why I did it.

 

* * *

_About 2 1/2 Years Later (Early June)_

* * *

"Ree ta me daddy!" Yuri calls out the moment I enter the apartment, covered in grime from work.

Smiling broadly, I swoop down and toss her onto my shoulders, quickly scooping up the book she dropped and heading out onto the sunny balcony.

I crack open the book and a small picture slips out.

"Who's dat?" Yuri questions immediately, pointing at the group containing Daphne, Regina and Bay.

"My friends from a looonnnggggg time ago," I playfully answer.

Yuri smiles and points at Bay. "Her hair is prewtty!"

"It is," I softly agree. Yuri snuggles deeper into my embrace once I begin to read her the story.

 

* * *

_About 8 Months Later (Early February)_

* * *

"I'm very sorry Ms and Mr. Mendosa. Your son went into cardiac arrest soon after the caesarean and passed away. However your daughter is completely healthy and is in the nursery if you'd like to visit her," the doctor tells us softly, pressing a box of tissues into my hands.

On the bed beside me, Eva bursts into a fresh round of tears. I want to join her but I know that I need to be strong for the both of us. Plus if I started crying, I'm not sure I could ever stop.

I still can't believe it. My little baby boy- my little Justin Everly Mendosa- is no longer alive. How am I supposed to explain this to Yuri? She was so excited to learn that she was going to get a brother and a sister.

Swallowing back a wave of sorrow, I press the tissues into Eva's trembling hand and leave the room, headed towards the nursery. I scoop up my newborn daughter, offering the attending nurse a grim smile before returning to the room.

Eva is sleeping fitfully and I amazed that she fell asleep so quickly. I suppose with all the medication and the crying, she probably just dropped right off.

I slowly lower myself into the bedside reclining chair and heave a deep sigh. On top of my chest, my daughter stirs slightly, but quickly calms when I cover her back with my hand.

I can feel the tears prickling from behind my eyes and blink rapidly to keep them from falling. I pull my baby up closer to my head, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose and breathing in her newborn smell.

"I love you Karina Abigail Mendosa. I promise that I'll never forget your twin brother," I begin softly. "And I promise not to let you forget him either."

 

* * *

_About 5 1/2 Years Later (Late August)_

* * *

The sun is shining brightly as I walk both Yuri and Karina across the street to the small, redbrick school that they both attend. Despite Yuri's protests, I give them both big kisses on the cheek and wave goodbye to them, promising that I'll be back at the end of the day.

During my short walk back to the apartment, I can feel my rage towards Eva growing with each step. She's sitting at home right now instead of sending the girls off to their first day of school. I know she wanted to send them to the private school across the neighbourhood but we just couldn't afford it. Not with Yuri's figure skating lessons and Karina's newfound interest in soccer and piano. I'd rather spend money on that than on some fancy school.

Shaking my head, I unlock the door and immediately head to the bedroom where Eva is now sleeping. I am still angry when I reach over to shake her awake.

Groggily she rolls over and glares at me in irritation. "What?" She slurs, tugging the blankets over her head.

"Yuri and Karina were sad that you didn't come with us to school today," I tell her simply. While Yuri and Karina take after me with their private personalities and difficulty with emotions, they both inherited Eva's clear expressions and it was easy to tell that they were both sad this morning despite the excitement of the first day of school.

"I don't even want them to go to that school," Eva spits, jolting out of bed. "So why should I bother dragging myself to that hell hole?"

"Because we're a family," I reply simply. My words seem to enrage her even more.

"How are we a family if all you do is work, work, work?"

I try to resist the urge to roll my eyes. I usually work the same 40 hour week that most other working adults in the country do. The rest of the time away is spent out with the children; taking them to various practices and appointments as well as little fun things like visiting the library and the zoo and Auntie Aida. Of course Eva fails to notice this as she's been too wrapped up in her own head to give a damn about any of us.

"You don't love any of us Ty! Not one bit!" Eva shrieks when I don't verbally respond to her.

"You know that's not true," I say, trying to keep my voice steady.

I've clearly caused her anger to flare yet again although I'm not exactly sure why or how. Eva opens her mouth to say something but quickly changes her mind, shoving me forcefully into the wall instead.

"I hate you!" She wails as she runs and locks herself in the bathroom.

 

* * *

_About 6 Months Later (Early February)_

* * *

"Happy birthday, Justin!" Karina chimes in her high-pitched voice, bending down to place a small teddy bear at the foot of the grave. "I reallyyyy hope you like heaven and that all the angels sang you happy birthday and gave you presents and cake. Is it nice up there? Daddy says that it is and that you're happy and stuff. Is it cold? It must be cold way up there. I hope you have a nice hat an' jacket and boots. Mine are purple and sparkly! I bet you'd like thems! I really misses and loves you Justy!"

I glance down at my golden-haired daughter as she presses one last kiss to the headstone before reaching out to hold my hand.

"Ready to go?" I ask her gently.

She nods slightly, a small smile blossoming on her face.

"Daddy?" Karina asks once I have her buckled up in her booster seat.

"Yes angel?" I ask as I slide into the front seat.

"Why didn' mommy come? I know Yuri is sick today but Auntie Aida coulda taken care of her so that mommy coulda came and visited Justin with us!"

I sigh deeply. Eva isn't here because she's nursing a nasty hangover. But I obviously can't tell my 6 year old that. I still can't believe she's drinking so much now, no matter what I say or do. She most certainly isn't taking care of our poor flu-stricken Yuri. That's being done by Greta, the kind elderly lady who lives across the hall.

"Because it makes her too sad," I finally mange to answer, reaching back to pat Karina's knee when I see her face fall.

"Ready to go and have a super special lunch with Auntie Aida?" I ask in an attempt to lighten the mood and garner a smile from my youngest child. My attempt obviously works because Karina smiles widely at me.

"Yes!" She shouts, clapping her hands together happily.

 

* * *

_About 5 Months Later (Early July)_

* * *

This is most certainly the last straw. I could forgive Eva's mood swings, complaining, laziness, and even her general disregard for our family. What I cannot forgive is her clear attempt to drive with them while she is incredibly intoxicated. Thankfully I'd managed to intervene and wrestle the car keys out of her hand before driving us all home from the 4th of July celebrations that we'd been attending downtown.

Pressing a kiss to the crowns of both Yuri and Karina's heads, I usher them over next door to visit with 'Grandma' Greta. They don't need to see or hear any of this. Closing the door behind me, I pause to contemplate my next words. When I turn to face Eva, I find her profusely vomiting into the sink. I stand a few feet behind her with my arms crossed, not bothering to hold her hair back or fetch a facecloth.

When I'm sure that she's done puking, I reach to grab her shoulders and turn her around.

"What the fuck was that!?" I yell, stepping back when Eva flinches at my tone. "What in the world was going through your head when you tried to drive our children home drunk?

Eva shrugs indifferently, her eyes glassy and bloodshot.

This response enrages me further and I take several deep breathes so I don't react like I did with Bay all those years ago.

Finally I manager to seethe, "Get. Out."

"Whaaaat?" Eva slurs, her eyes wide with shock.

"I said get out! This is my apartment and I don't want you here anymore! I've tried and tried to help you but nothing is working. I won't let our children grow up in a home like I did. They deserve more than this," I growl, venom dripping off my words.

Eva doesn't even react- just stands there with her green eyes glassy with tears. Frustrated beyond belief, I storm into what was once our bedroom and begin tossing everything that is Eva's onto the bed. Once her things are all in a heap, I bundle them up in the quilt and haul it back out into the living room.

"Whu- wha ya doinggg?" Eva asks thickly.

How has her voice gotten more slurred in the last thirty minutes? My eyes fall to the bottle of vodka in her hand, already half empty. Well that answers that question.

Sighing, I stride forward and pry the bottle out of her fingers. "Please don't do this Eva," I plead. "Think of our daughters and your sister and parents. Think of yourself, Eva! Think of... me," I whisper.

Eva ducks her head and ignores my probing gaze. Something inside me breaks when she does that. Gritting my teeth, I pick up the large bundle of Eva's things in one arm and use the other to toss her over my shoulder. Eva doesn't fight my actions and I can tell she is close to passing out. When we are outside the building, I gently place her on the ground and call her sister to have her come pick her up.

Pressing one last kiss to her forehead, I return to the front entrance. I hover in the doorway but decide not to look back at the person I once thought was the love of my life. Yuri and Karina are my first priorities now and I need to ensure their safety and happiness, and that involves only looking forward.

* * *

 

"The papers have been finalized and filed Mr. Mendosa. This includes the custody agreement granting you full parental rights to 9 year old Yuri Madeline Mendosa and 6 year old Karina Abigail Mendosa. Said custody agreement shall be revised at the time that Eva Janine Streen has been determined to be of healthy mind and body for a minimum period of 6 months." My lawyer pauses briefly. "Do you have any questions Mr. Mendosa?"

"Am I able to move to another state with my daughters?" I hesitantly ask. "I was offered a new job in Kansas City, Missouri and... I was considering taking it due to a significant pay increase."

Much to my relief my lawyer smiles and nods. "As long as you keep myself and the proper government agencies informed of your location and the school your daughters attend, there will be no current issues."

I stand up and shake his hand before quickly leaving the office. I have a busy few weeks ahead of me and I shouldn't waste another moment. The girls, Yuri in particular, are adventure seekers. I'm sure that they will enjoy this adventure even though they'll miss Eva terribly. Thankfully she'll be able to call them once per week and talk to each of them for ten minutes. I couldn't handle it if my children suffered from the same issues of abandonment that I had faced.

 

* * *

_About 2 Months Later (Mid August)_

* * *

"And this is our new home," I say as I lead Yuri and Karina up the stairs to the large porch. Their eyes widen in amazement as they take in the place that they will hopefully be residing in until they finish school.

"Daddy this place is the bestest!" Karina proclaims, giggling happily.

"Do guys wanna check out each of your bedrooms?"

"We don't have to share?" Yuri questions as she perches herself on the porch railing.

I shake my head. "Nope! You will have to share a bathroom though," I inform her. Yuri shrugs indifferently. The bathroom won't be much of an issue. Yuri is a morning person while Karina is most certainly a night-owl. Their paths will almost never cross.

I open the front door of our modest three bedroom bungalow. "Your names are hanging on your doors," I tell Yuri and Karina when they step inside. Excited smiles grace their faces as they both stampede through the house and down the hall to their rooms.

 

* * *

_About 3 Months Later (Mid November)_

* * *

"Please congratulate our new Missouri State Figure Skating Champion, Yurriiii Mednosaaaa!"

Karina and I both clap wildly as Yuri receives a shiny medal, a cheque, and a thick bundle of flowers. I wave to her from the front row and she blushes a brilliant shade of red. She turns even redder when Karina blows her kisses and keeps yelling about how her sister is the best skater in the entire world.

After a short twenty minute wait Yuri sprints out of the dressing room and launches herself into my arms.

"I did it dad! I won!" She proclaims jubilantly. "And look at my medal! It's the biggest one I've gotten yet!"

"It sure is something special sweetheart," I tell her, gently running my fingers over the shiny piece of brass. "Now, where do you want to go out to for our celebration dinner?"

 

* * *

_About 7 Months Later (End of June)_

* * *

As a treat for finishing and doing well in school, I'd decided to take Yuri and Karina to Maui, Kansas so that they can see the place that I grew up visiting. I'm still shocked that the place is open after all these years, and from the look of things, not much has changed.

"This place is so cool," Karina tells me as her head swivels back and forth so quickly that I'm afraid she'll end up with a concussion. Yuri seems to be quite a bit less impressed although I can tell that she's still enjoying herself.

"Can we go on the Ferris wheel?" Yuri suddenly asks me when we pass by it.

I push back the wave of Bay-based memories that remind me of all that was lost. "Of course," I answer as I guide them towards the lineup. "I always liked this ride too- particularly the pineapple shaped lights," I mention when I catch Yuri admiring the aforementioned lights.

Yuri is about to respond when her mouth snaps shut.

"What is it?" I worriedly question.

"Isn't that the lady with the pretty hair from the picture?" Yuri asks me, her finger pointing towards the woman that's five children ahead of us in the line. Did Bay really have five kids? I find myself fighting back a flare of jealousy.

Shaking my head, I whisper, "Let's find out," to Yuri who smiles shrewdly. If it really is Bay, then I'll never hear the end of it from Yuri.

I take a deep breath and call out, "Bay!"

The curly dark haired woman immediately turns around. The wind is knocked out of me when I set my eyes on Bay's face for the first time in over 14 years.

"Ty?" Bay asks. "Is that really you?"

I nod slowly, pleased with her cheerful reaction. "In the flesh," I respond.

I can feel her eyes roaming my body and I allow myself to do the same. She's a fuller in the legs, there are small wrinkles in the corner of her eyes, and her hair is quite a bit shorter than it was back then. Other than that she looks the same and as beautiful as ever.

Bay quickly glances back at her brood before stepping closer to me. "And who might these beautiful ladies be?" Bay asks softly, tapping Karina lightly on the nose.

"These are my daughters," I tell her proudly. "Yuri and Karina."

Bay smiles fondly and says, "They look a lot like you."

I can't help but return the smile. While they both have Eva's green eyes, Yuri has her slight frame, and Karina has her blonde hair, most of their features come from me and I honestly couldn't be prouder.

"Are they all yours?" I ask Bay, gesturing to the kids behind her.

She lets out a hearty laugh. "Nope! These are Toby and Nikki's kids and Daphne's foster kids. The blondes are all Toby and Nikki's," she tells me. "The tall one is William Jonathan and he just turned 9. The one with glasses is Michael James who turns 6 in December. And the little blonde cutie is Hailey Joanne and she turned 4 in April."

"And the other two are...?"

"The twins- Tessa Marie and Scott Alexander. They turn 13 in January," Bay supplies.

I try to ignore the pang in my heart when she mentions that they're fraternal twins. Just like Karina and Justin would have been.

"Are you ok?" Bay hesitantly asks.

I shrug my shoulders. This is too much to talk about in an amusement park line. Despite our turbulent past, I find myself wanting to talk to Bay about what's been going on all these years.

"Would you like to go out to dinner- just the two of us?" I shyly question.

"How's tomorrow night sound?" Bay asks as she quickly scribbles her phone number on a scrap of paper.

"Sounds awesome to me," I reply, stepping on to the same Ferris wheel car as Bay, Karina, and Hailey.

After glancing back at the rest of the kids, I close my eyes and soak up the rays of the sun. This has been the best day I've had in a long, long time.

* * *

 

I sneak a peek at Bay across the table as she fiddles with her napkin after I told her about my past decade or so, including a swath of apologies for my cruel outburst. It felt so good finally talking to someone who can just sit and listen to me. It felt ever better getting a chance to apologise to her in person.

"So now that I've told you all about my life, tell me, what have you been up to all these years?" I playfully ask, trying to ease the tension between us.

Bay chews on her lip in concentration. "Well I graduated from Pratt with a bachelor's degree in fine arts. Then I took a year off to try the art scene in Europe out. I actually met up with Banksy in London and we sold a piece together for over $100,000!"

"That's mighty impressive," I tell her, allowing pride to tinge my voice. "Can I see it?"

She briefly fiddles with her phone and hands it to me, where the main screen is open to her collaborative piece. I don't really understand it but it's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

I hand Bay her phone back and she continues with her story.

"After that I decided that being an art teacher would be cool and that I wanted to return to teach at Carlton so that they can finally have a real teacher. So I applied to Gallaudet and miraculously got in. Emmett was there too..." Bay trails off, carefully contemplating her next words. "We dated again for quite a while and we sort of talked about getting married but it just didn't work out."

I let out a sigh of relief at that. "Anything else?" I question.

"I started up a weekend care facility in East Riverside with the gang," Bay tells me simply. "It's the greatest feeling- helping out all those kids and keeping them on the right path."

I wish something like that had been around when I was a troubled East Riverside kid. Bay really is the most selfless and caring person I've meet..

"Can I join the gang?" I sincerely ask.

Bay's smile widens. "I was hoping you'd say that. A lot of the kids are interested in auto mechanics and we could really use your expertise."

"It's a deal," I tell her, reaching across the table to shake her hand. There's a jolt of electricity when we touch. I wonder if she felt it too?

When we reach Bay's car, I find myself not wanting to leave without her. I still can't believe that after all these years and our horrible parting, we fell back into old routines so easily.

As if she could read my thoughts, Bay stretches up on her tip toes and gives me a short but passionate kiss.

"I'll see you around Ty," she tells me after we shared another passionate embrace.

I am over the moon with joy that we're getting another chance. This time I'll make sure that things will work out. They just have to.

 

* * *

_About 1 Year Later (Early July)_

* * *

Bay presses a series of hot open mouthed kisses down my naked chest, forcing me to suppress a loud moan. Giggling slightly, Bay continues her downward journey, pausing to yank off my boxers. Instead of doing what I wanted, Bay kisses her way back up my chest and curls her fingers into my hair.

"Bay!" I growl. "Come on!"

Her smile grows ever larger. "Tut tut, I'm not sure I can trust you to keep quiet Mr. Mendosa. And the girls most certainly don't want to hear this."

"You sure that you're not the one I should be worrying about?" I pant when her hand begins to trail lower.

She rolls her eyes. "It's not the first time I'd have to keep it down," she whispers.

"But it is the first time that you don't have to leave before the girls wake up," I supply. "So I suspect your walls may be lowered..."

Bay snorts playfully. "No, but I'm pretty sure yours have been."

Groaning, I quickly reach over Bay and grab a condom off what is now her nightstand. "I'm not so sure about that but we'll find out soon enough," I say as I press her firmly into our soft mattress.

 

* * *

_About 6 Months Later (Early January)_

* * *

"Ty... I'm pregnant," Bay tells me the moment she exits the doctor's office. "That's why I've been feeling so crappy lately. I don't... I'm too... It just doesn't make sense. We were being safe."

I gently kiss her on the cheek, trying to hide my elation as I say, "These things happen sometimes."

Bay nods, wringing her hands in her lap.

"Now, how far along are you?" I ask as I pull out of the parking lot.

"Almost 4 months they figure," Bay tells me with her brows crinkled together. "How didn't I know? Aren't women suppose to know right away?"

I find myself laughing lightly. "Am I woman that would know this?"

Bay rolls her eyes. "Ha ha," she chimes sarcastically.

"Everyone's body is different Bay. Eva knew right away... particularly with the twins." I swallow heavily on the last word.

Bay presses a soft kiss to the pulse point behind my jaw, pulling away to say, "When should we tell Yuri and Karina?"

I chew on my lip. "After your next ultrasound at the beginning of February?

Bay nods silently and leans against my arm, her hands folded over her mostly flat stomach.

 

* * *

_About 1 Month Later (Early February)_

* * *

"Yuri, Karina- Bay and I would like to talk to you," I say when we're all seated around the table for dinner.

Clutching my hand tightly, Bay swallows heavily. "We're going to have a baby," she says simply, stealing quick glances at the girls.

"Really!?" Yuri exclaims just as Karina squeals and asks if it's a boy or a girl.

"We really are!" I say happily. "And it's going to be a special surprise for everyone- We don't know if it's a boy or a girl."

Before I can say anything else, bother Yuri and Karina have jumped out of their chairs and into Bay's arms. Looking over their shoulders, Bay shoots me a look of relief. I still can't believe she was nervous to tell them. I knew that they'd react positively.

Later that night, I fold Bay into my arms and press a gentle kiss behind her ear. Beneath my palm I can feel the gentle flutters of our child as he or she moves around. I have a feeling that the child will inherit Bay's wild curls and artistic talents, and I simply can't wait to meet them.

 

* * *

_About 4 Months Later (Mid May)_

* * *

"Ty!" Bay howls from the bedroom.

Panicked, I drop the laundry basket to the floor and sprint across the house.

"Bay are you ok? What is it? Is it our baby?" I ask, my mind racing at the thought that our child might be in trouble.

Tears are pouring down Bay's face and she clutches her phone to her chest. Taking several deep breathes and placing a palm on her swollen stomach, she shakily says, "My dad just called and- and my mom and Daphne were in a really bad car accident because of the rain, and they... they're... neither of them lived."

My stomach drops. Kathryn and Daphne are both gone? That's impossible! I was talking to both of them last night about finishing the nursery addition to the house.

Not knowing what to say, I pull Bay into my arms and comfort her as best I can.

* * *

 

We've been home from the funeral for less than twenty minutes when Bay doubles over and emits a soft moan. That moan is quickly followed by a gasp when I see trickle of liquid dripping down her legs.

Gently grabbing Bay's shoulders, I look deeply into her eyes. "Bay," I start slowly, "You're in labour. We need to get to the hospital."

Still shocked, Bay numbly nods her head.

"Yuri, get Bay's hospital bag. Karina, please grab a clean towel and put it in the front seat of the car." Once the words are out of my mouth, Yuri and Karina scamper away.

"It hurts," Bay whimpers, leaning into my embrace.

I slowly stroke my hand up and down her back, whispering nonsensical things in her ear and wishing I could take her pain away.

* * *

 

After many hours of pushing and swearing, a screaming and wrinkly baby girl enters the world. I lean down to press a gentle kiss to Bay's lips, stroking her sweaty hair off her damp forehead.

"We have such a beautiful daughter," I say. "She already has your curly hair."

Bay smiles at that. "Looks like a tough few years of hair brushing ahead of us then," she quips tiredly. "Can I sleep now? I'm so tired that I think I might drop her if I try and hold her."

"You can do what you think is best," I say simply.

Bay nods and closes her eyes. "Thank you," she mumbles into the air.

Sitting in the wooden rocking chair by the window, I hoist my youngest daughter higher in my arms, smiling softly at the sleeping figures of my other three girls on the bed across from me.

"I'll love you forever, Laurel Kathryn-Renee Mendosa. I promise to teach you about the people you are named after and to make sure that you're always happy."

 

* * *

_About 2 1/2 Years Later (Late October)_

* * *

The last several years of my life have been both joyful and turbulent- my army accident, losing Bay, falling in love with Eva and have two beautiful daughters, having to divorce her to keep the children safe, moving back to KC and falling back in love with Bay and having a daughter with her- but I wouldn't change anything for the world.

Bay and I stand on the porch as we watch our three girls walk hand-in-hand down the street, all decked out in their Halloween costumes. Laurel toddles unsteadily on her short legs but Yuri and Karina make sure that she's fine.

Turning to Bay, I give her a short kiss. "Want to watch a movie?" I ask, gently pulling her inside once the girls have turned the corner.

Bay nods and quickly flips to some random horror movie. Curled up together under the afghan, I stroke my fingers up and down her bare arm. Despite her protests that Halloween was a pointless and over-commercialized holiday, Bay still dressed up. Unsurprisingly she is dressed as Frida Kahlo, much to the amusement of all of us but Laurel.

Bay notices my smile when she glances up at. "What?" She asks, biting back a laugh.

"I love you," I say simply.

Bay lightly taps her hand over my heart and says, "I love you too. Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end of my first ever fanfic! I hope you enjoyed it and please review!
> 
> Random fact: Daphne means Laurel, hence the inspiration for the name!


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